Mildred V. Jackson, former Rosie the Riveter at Navy Yard, and retail worker, dies at 96

Mildred Virginia Jackson, 96, formerly of Philadelphia, died Tuesday, Feb. 18, of heart disease at a nursing facility in West Bloomfield Township, Mich.

Mrs. Jackson was born in Richmond, Va., in 1923 to Daisy Mae Barksdale and Wilfred Clark Sr. The youngest of four children, Mrs. Jackson would have turned 97 on March 12.

At 2, she and her older sister moved to Philadelphia to live with family after her mother died. Her father remained in Virginia, where he worked and reared her two brothers.

In Philadelphia, Mrs. Jackson attended public schools and graduated from Germantown High School. During World War II, she worked as a “Rosie the Riveter,” the nickname given to women who joined the war effort, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, said her daughter, Alma Reese.

After the war, she married Thaxton Jackson, who was also from Virginia. However the two did not know each other before they met in Philadelphia. For years, they lived in the Pulaski Town section of Philadelphia before moving to Blakemore Street in Mount Airy.

Mrs. Jackson was later widowed after her husband succumbed to several illnesses he had contracted while serving overseas during World War II. Her only daughter was about 7 at the time.

To raise her, Mrs. Jackson worked in retail at JC Penney for 25 years. She later worked in security for Woolworth’s.

Mrs. Jackson loved being with her extended family, Reese said.

“Every weekend, we did family dinners on both Saturdays and Sundays, and we celebrated birthdays and holidays together,” she said.

Her older brother moved to Philadelphia as an adult and had four daughters. So every weekend, the two sisters and brother and their families spent time together. (Mrs. Jackson’s other brother had died by that time.)

When Reese married and had two daughters of her own, Mrs. Jackson loved to visit and spend time with her granddaughters, traveling often to see them, even when Reese and her family lived in California.

“She was very close to her grandchildren and even her nieces and grandnieces,” Reese said. “She loved to call herself a grandmother who loved to babysit.”

Reese now lives in Michigan, and Mrs. Jackson had moved there to live with her in her later years.

Her mother was always optimistic and pleasant and was known for her beautiful smile, Reese said.

In Philadelphia, the family attended Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Germantown. They would spend all day at the church. They’d go to church services in the morning, go home and eat, and then return to church programs in the afternoon.

In her spare time, Mrs. Jackson loved to knit, crochet, and visit family or vacation with friends.

In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Jackson is survived by two granddaughters and other relatives and friends.

A viewing will take place at 9 a.m., Saturday, March 14, followed by a funeral at 10 a.m. at Bruce R. Hawkins Funeral Home, 6828 Old York Road, Philadelphia. Interment will be at Ivy Hill Cemetery.