William Andrew Jackson, 'Andy,' 64

William Andrew Jackson, “Andy” to all who were family or friends, was born Aug. 24, 1959, and sadly left us June 25, 2024, at the young age of 64. Andy was born in his mother's hometown of Selma, Ala., where his father was stationed in the Air Force. Andy then became an Air Force brat and lived in many places, Germany being one of them as a toddler. Sadly, his parents divorced, but his mom found love again with his stepfather, who was a good man. His new set of parents called Fort Walton Beach, Fla., home and that is where Andy graduated from high school. He dabbled in baseball and some football before high school, but fixing things was his biggest hobby. Andy proved to be a responsible young man as he always had a job to pay for the things he wanted, like his first 10-speed bike, motorcycle, 1950 Ford, and his little red Honda Civic. He worked as a dishwasher in his step-aunt and uncle’s restaurant and cleaned floors on base housing with his stepfather’s cleaning business. Andy was too young to get his own loans, so his parents cosigned at the bank for him; he never defaulted on any payment. His parents also had to sign for him as he chose to join the Navy before his 18th birthday. 

Knowing that Andy was mechanically inclined after he graduated from boot camp at the Naval training center in Great Lakes, Ill., he attended "Engineman A" school, which was comprised of diesel engine training, and then “Engineman C” school, where he got the gas turbine and support systems training for the entire propulsion set on Spruance Destroyers and Perry Class Frigates. Andy, along with now lifelong Navy buddies Spiller, Snyder, Karaba, Miller, Worst, March, Martin, Beatty and a few others, were on the M division as the Nicholson was in its final stages of construction, transferred to Norfolk for Pre-com training, where they were sent on a couple of training cruises aboard the USS Connolly, then to Pascagoula in Mississippi around March of 1979 to prepare the Nicholson for commissioning. After serving five years on the “Nasty Nick,” whose home port was Charleston, S.C., he left the Navy in the fall of 1983 as an E5, GSM2 and an official plank owner. 

He moved back to his hometown of Fort Walton Beach and worked as an electrical helper, then got a job as an inspector for a company called Metric Systems, which was a defense contractor; where Andy was known as a tough inspector as he knew how important it was for parts to be top-notch for them to work properly and safely. This is a trait that he carried throughout his whole life with whatever he built or fixed. Andy then decided to get back into his specialized field of gas turbine engines and took a job with the Royal Saudi Navy. He completed only one year of the three-year contract and broke it as he could not handle how they treated women, their work ethic and cultural differences. When he returned to the United States, he went back to Metric Systems until he began his job with Rolls-Royce Energy Systems out of Atlanta, Ga., in 1986. The company moved us to North Idaho in 1996, where his division was eventually bought by Siemens Energy. He was finally able to retire in 2022. 

Now, onto how I fit into Andy’s life… On Nov. 29, 1981, I was a young Canadian-born and raised girl on vacation with my parents, my two older married sisters and my little brother on the island of Barbados. This is an island that my parents escaped to on their own yearly to get a break from their kids, but this particular year, they took us with them, thank GOD. Andy’s ship was in the area, and they were given the choice of Haiti or Barbados; the majority chose Barbados, again, thank God! I was on a beach playing in the water and pretending I was alone (my married sisters were responsible for me as my parents had gone on a side trip to Trinidad). I was out swimming and a local guy who my parents had known for years was starting to be inappropriate with me. Fortunately, one of Andy’s Navy buddies, who was also swimming, saw what was going on and called me over like he knew me to get me away from my tormentor. Now, this is where I meet 22-year-old Andy; I am introduced to him and several of the guys. They told me they were U.S. sailors and they would look out for me, and they did. Abbreviated version due to the cost of the ad … Andy and I spent two days together, exchanged addresses, became pen pals, and sent hundreds of letters, no emails, no texts, no video chats and very few phone calls as neither of us had money (I was still in college). Two years later, we were engaged, and two years after that, we married. In those four years, we saw each other ten times. We married in North Hatley, Quebec, in 1985 and lived in Florida, Ga., and since 1996, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has been home sweet home. 

Some of his hobbies were golfing and camping, and, thanks to our son Matthew introducing him to beer making, he became a very skilled brewmaster. His most prized hobby was being Mr. Fix-it for everything and anyone who asked him. He would not pay anyone to repair anything unless he really could not do it himself, and that was rare. He loved troubleshooting and solving problems and was so generous with his time and knowledge with family, friends, coworkers, and sometimes a stranger. Cooking and “traegering” were another of his pastimes; he was like his mom as he could not cook for one meal and cooked, so you had enough leftovers three times over. Also, even though he looked up recipes, he never followed them to a T, and I never had reason to complain as he was excellent in the kitchen, and I loved being his prep and clean-up crew. 

Andy took so much pride in our children and loved coaching his sons in baseball and especially in hockey, where he spent many years volunteering more hours than I liked as the scheduler for our hockey association. One thing Andy is known for is his wonderful all “cap lock” clean and tidy handwriting that he used to document every single job he worked on (tons of notebooks), many logs of every single batch of beer he brewed, and he kept every score sheet of every game he coached. Surprisingly a little obsessed with documenting data and strangely, I’m the one who writes novels when I speak … like now! 

Sadly, after 35 years with RR/Siemens, Andy only got to enjoy a little over two years of retirement, but we made the most of it until his health dealt him a cruel blow. We had 38.5 amazing, loving years together, and because of Andy’s hard work, I was able to be a stay-at-home mom, something I have wanted since I was a little girl. I am so grateful that our children inherited their father’s drive to achieve their dreams and make us proud. Both sons followed in their father’s footsteps and served in the Navy, and they all earned amazing degrees and jobs so that they are all self-sufficient like their dad (pilot, IT security and a nurse, wow!) He and I talked about how happy we were that they also found their partners in love and attended their weddings. He could leave this world knowing they could provide for themselves, they were happy, and I was going to be OK! And we will forever be the true and original “Jackson 5!”

Andy leaves behind ME — Louise, who loved him more, but Andy reminded me that he LOVED me FIRST and he did; our son, Justin Jackson (Lauren); our son, Matthew (Laurel); our daughter, Laura (Tyler); and our future granddaughter, “Andy Rey,” due to be born in August. Andy cried with joy when he found out he was going to be Pa."

He also leaves behind sister-in-law Cheryl; his stepbrothers, Mike (Rose), Rusty (Monica), Jay (Lela); my mom, Jane Ann; my sisters, Jane (Michel) and Elizabeth (Louis); and my brothers, James (Aileen) and Paul (Anie); many nephews and nieces and more cousins than he knew. He also leaves behind our goldens, Lily and Buster, and cats Loki and Thor. 

Andy is preceded in death by his mother, Nita Emerson; father Olen Carl Jackson; brothers Mike and Olen Jackson; stepfather James Emerson; stepsister Janice Emerson; and my father, who he admired, and it was mutual — Lawrence Bergeron. 

The kids and I talked it over, and we think Andy would have wanted to be honored in a happy way. For him, that would be a large gathering outside to be determined later. It will be when we can get all the kids back together and enjoy some of his last brewed beer, as that was one of his many joys. 

We want to thank the staff at Kootenai Clinic Cancer Services of Cd’A, who we saw so often they felt like family; the staff at Kootenai Specialty Pharmacy, who went above and beyond to get Andy chemo drugs at little to no cost so we would not go bankrupt; the staff at Kootenai Health with so many nurses and specialists who showed compassion providing the care Andy needed; and the staff at Yates for their professionalism during this difficult time for our family. 

I also want to thank my family and friends, who helped me in so many ways, and I’m forever grateful. 

Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank my children, who went above and beyond to let their dad know how much he was loved, and their spouses, who held me up so I would not fall apart. I love you with all my heart, and Dad would be so proud of all you’ve done already. 

Acute Myeloid Leukemia is what took our Andy away. It’s a cruel blood cancer that does not have a cure, so if you want to help in any way, a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society would be appreciated. 

Andy, my “Knight in Shining Armor,” I will join you one day, and we will live “Happily Ever After.” All my love, FOREVER YOURS, Louise XOXO.

Please visit Andy’s memorial and sign his online guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.

    Jackson