Otha Dill "O. D." Jackson

Otha Dill Jackson died Saturday, October 26, 2024, at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko.

All are invited to celebrate O. D.’s life at a memorial service with a reception to follow to be held Saturday, November 2, at 1 p.m. at the Ellis Theater in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Otha Dill Jackson was born January 11, 1925, to Will and Mae Jackson of the North Bend community of Neshoba County. He was the sixth-born of twelve children, eleven of which would live full adult lives. He was known by many names throughout his life—O. D., Otha, Mr. Jackson, Uncle Dill, Pappaw, and Daddy, but O. D. was most common.

The Jackson family was blessed to have eight boys and three girls to work their 200-acre farm near the Pearl River swamp. They farmed cotton as their cash crop and harvested hay for the livestock. They tended a vegetable garden, a potato patch, and fruit vines and trees and had milk cows, pigs, and chickens to feed the large family. These accommodations, along with hard work and sacrifice, allowed them to cope well during the Great Depression.

O. D. volunteered and was enlisted in the army on June 29, 1943, at eighteen. After a nearly monthlong ship ride across the Pacific Ocean with 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 nurses, O. D. arrived at harbor in New Guinea where he was sent to the Admiralty Islands and assigned to the 1st Calvary Division, service troop, 5th Regiment, as a rifleman and truck driver. O. D. participated in the invasions of Leyte and Luzon, which launched the campaign to recapture and liberate the Philippine Archipelago after nearly three years of Japanese occupation. On February 15, 1945, during the Battle of Manila, O. D. was wounded in the knee by a Japanese sniper. A comrade risked his life to pull him to safety, and it would be three days before O. D. would learn he would not lose his leg. He was discharged at Camp Stoneman, California, on November 8, 1945. During a part of World War II, five Jackson brothers, O’Neil, Jeffie, Lawson, O.D., and Fulton, served in the US armed forces at the same time. Later, two younger brothers, Howard and Windell, would serve during the Korean conflict, and the youngest brother, Garland, would serve in the National Guard. Sisters, Marie, Doris and Mary, were at home helping to support the family during challenging times.

After the war, O. D. enrolled at Mississippi State University on the GI Bill, despite never having received a high school diploma. He graduated from the School of Animal Husbandry in 1949. He then began several teaching jobs, including at Dixie School near Sebastopol. It was there he met Edna Earl Hillman, whom he would marry in 1950. Their son Will James was born in 1954. O. D. was a faithful member of his community. He holds the record as the longest continuous member of American Legion, Post 138, for which he also served as Post Commander. He was a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church and a longtime member of its choir. He was actively involved in politics. He was elected chairman of the Neshoba County Democratic Party in 1964 and quickly recognized he was more truly associated with the policies of the newly emerging Mississippi Republican Party. He helped form the Neshoba County Republican Party and was elected its first chairman in 1968 and was re-elected in 1972. He served as a delegate to four Mississippi Republican State Conventions and was a member of the Mississippi Republican Party State Executive Committee from 1972 through 1976. He served on the board of the East Mississippi Farmer’s Livestock Company, was a state commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, president of the Neshoba County Farm Bureau, president of the Philadelphia Rotary Club, and president of the Philadelphia High School Athletic Booster Club. He was treasurer of the board of directors of the Neshoba County-Philadelphia Historical Museum and was appointed to the Legislative Committee by the national commander of the American Legion.

He headed up the committee to get Mississippi Highway 25 from Jackson to Starkville designated a Purple Heart Highway. He was selected Tree Farmer of the Year by the Neshoba County Forestry Association in 2005 and 2009 and Citizen of the Year by the Philadelphia Community Development Partnership in 2010. He was recognized in 2019 by the Mississippi State Legislature for distinguished military and community service, and the American flag over the Mississippi State Capitol flew in his honor that day. In 2024, at the age of 99, O. D. was honored by the Mississippi Republican Party when a resolution was read at the state convention recognizing his leadership and service to the Neshoba County Republican Party, Mississippi Republican Party, and the United States. O. D. was the manager of the Neshoba County Gin Association for 36 years and later built a successful storage business. He maintained a 220-acre farm at Dixon, where he first raised cattle, hogs, watermelon, and vegetables and later transitioned to a timber farm.

He is survived by his son, Willie Jackson (Susan); his grandchildren, Bryant Jackson (LeAnna), Lane Connerley (Robert), and Reagan Jackson; his great-grandchildren, Ellington and Finley Connerley and Emerson Jackson; his brother Windell Jackson (JoAnn); his sister Mary Nance; his sister-in-law Janice Jackson; and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. O. D.’s family extends their deepest gratitude to the staff at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko where O. D. spent the final three years of his life receiving excellent professional care.

O. D.’s nephews will serve as pallbearers: Billy Jackson, Bobby Jackson, David Jackson, Donald Jackson, Greg Jackson, Joey Jackson, Larry Jackson, Robert Jackson, Elgin Boggan, Ricky Boggan, and Steve Nance.

Serving as honorary pallbearers are Obadiah Bester, Mitchell Bounds, Craig Brown, O’Neil Buckman, Carol Burns, Prentice Copeland, Ray Crocker, Dan Cumberland, Steve Cumberland, Steve Emerson, Bill Gilley, Harvin Hudson, Kathy Kittrell, Debbie Myers, Pete Perry, Danny Wilkerson, and Jerry Wilkerson.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Friends of Mississippi Veterans (599C Steed Road, Ridgeland, MS 39157) or the Palmer Home for Children (800 Baldwin Road S., Lake Cormorant, MS 38641).