Robert Ray Jackson

A funeral service honoring the life of Robert Ray Jackson will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, May 29, 2020 at Rose-Neath Bossier Chapel, 2201 Airline Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana. A visitation with the family will be held Thursday, May 28, 2020 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Rose-Neath Bossier. Officiating the service will be The Reverend Russell Brooks Boylan, Jr. Interment will follow the service at Rose-Neath Cemetery, 5185 Swan Lake Spur, Bossier City, Louisiana. Ray Jackson was born November 11, 1947 in Natchitoches, Louisiana to Robert and Helon Jackson and passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family, Saturday, May 23, 2020 in Bossier City, Louisiana. Ray was a graduate of Woodlawn High School in Shreveport, Louisiana and later Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he played tennis and received a Bachelor of Science in Library Studies. While studying at Northwestern, Ray met the love of his life, Juanita, in a French class. They later married in 1971. Ray worked as a Senior Business Analyst at Dun & Bradstreet for 20 years before retiring and finding his true passion as a Deputy for the Bossier Sheriff's Office for 20 years. He especially enjoyed his co-workers in dispatch, where he was able to help many people with his ability to keep calm and communicate with compassion in high pressure situations. Ray will always be remembered as an exemplary husband, father and friend. He was a humble man with integrity who led by example. A great orator with a deep vocabulary, he loved to tell stories and make people laugh. Family vacations were always made into an adventure thanks to what has been so lovingly named the "Jackson Effect". When things went awry around Ray, he always found a way and gained an unforgettable story. His family home was always filled with laughter, love and faith. Ray was a strong Christian man who touched so many lives through his compassion for others. He cherished his family and especially adored his granddaughters, who lovingly called him "Honey". Ray is preceded in death by his parents. Left to cherish his memory is his loving wife of almost 50 years, Juanita Smith Jackson; son, Robert Roy Jackson and wife, Ashley; granddaughters, Abigail and Kathryn; mother-in-law, Donnie Smith; sister-in-law, Betty Cummings and husband, Bill; nephew, Alan Cummings; niece, Carole Calhoun and husband, Chad, and numerous other family and friends. Honoring Ray as pallbearers will be Greg Barnard, Don Burling, Joey Cleveland, Billy Jones, Donnie Keith and Reigan Malmay. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Lewis Bayne Lee, Dan Maciejczak and all the members of the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office. The family would also like to thank the Bossier Sheriff's Office for giving Ray the honor of serving his community, and the Bossier City Fire Department and paramedics for their care and compassion and repeatedly going above and beyond to help the family when it was needed most.