Phyllis Arlene Falconer Jackson will be turning 97 in November. But age is just a number and she’s still enjoying life to the fullest, even recently taking a motorcycle cruise up and down Main Street in Tarkio. (Submitted photos)
This is the photo 17-year-old Phyllis Falconer sent to her future husband, Herman Jackson, when he was serving in WWII.
Herman and Phyllis Jackson were married in 1945 and had four children. They are pictured with their youngest, Tracy, and her daughter, Heather.
For Phyllis Arlene (Falconer) Jackson of Tarkio, Missouri, taking life by the reins and steering in the direction she wanted to go was never a problem. Maybe it was because she was an East Coast girl, having been born to Harry and Hesper Falconer November 10, 1927, in Ithaca, New York. Or maybe it has always been in her blood, as by age eight, her family (which also included one sister and three brothers) had decided to move west for a better life and came to Missouri, putting down roots in Mound City. Whatever the reason, if there was something in life that Phyllis wanted to do, she did it, with a smile on her face and a bit of orneriness in her heart.
Once the family moved to Mound City, Phyllis attended the Mound City Schools. However, as an older teen, she moved down to Stover, Missouri, to work in a cafe with her mother. But life in southern Missouri was just a small detour, as she had already set her sights on a certain local serviceman serving his country overseas in WWII. In fact, she had made sure to have a photo taken of her (pictured with this feature) to send to him to remind him that she was waiting for him to return safe and sound. When Phyllis found out that Herman Jackson was coming home from his time spent in Japan and Alaska, she hopped on a bus and hightailed it back north to greet him. The story goes that there was some sort of conversation between the two sweethearts that if Herman didn’t marry her then, she was getting back on the bus and going back to Stover. Lucky for the both of them that Herman also knew what he wanted and the two traveled to Kansas to get hitched as there was no wait time to get married in that state. That was in 1945.
The two began their life together, raising four children, David, Jerry, Martha, and Tracy. Herman farmed some outside of Skidmore, Missouri, raising cattle, and worked for other local farmers as well. He also ran a filling station in Tarkio and worked at Felumb Fertilizer in Craig, Missouri, for a time. Phyllis stayed home with the children, but eventually began working at the school as a janitor. Herman also joined her there. When not working and raising children, Phyllis stayed active in the American Legion Auxiliary, where she has remained a member for over 70 years. She was also a part of Young at Heart, was on the OATS bus committee, and attended the Methodist Church in Tarkio.
From four children grew a family comprised of 13 grandchildren, lots of great-grandchildren, and even a few great-great-granchildren. For those youngins, Phyllis was always known as the fun grandma. She shared her culinary skills, being a connoisseur of baking. Her sense of adventure was also passed along, as she would hop in a car with her daughter, Tracy, and grandkids, Heather and Danny, and head to Mozingo for a day at the lake. They’d hunt for bittersweet on the side of country roads and stop for picnics. In the fall, they’d head to the woods and search for mushrooms. And although they never found any, they kept going back as it was just fun to be out exploring nature together. Phyllis also enjoyed doing crafts with Heather, making May Day baskets and spreading cheer to her neighbors and would always have a record playing while they worked, whether it was Ray Price or Bob Seger.
Enjoying all life has to offer and keeping active has seen Phyllis into her late 90s (she’ll be turning 97 this winter). Even though she never learned to drive, that didn’t stop her from seeing to her routine activities. She was still walking to the store right before she moved to the nursing home. A lot has happened to the world in those 97 years. When asked about some of the remarkable changes she’s seen, Phyllis remarked, “Everything has changed. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we’d go to the moon.” But she shouldn’t be surprised, as she herself has also shot for the moon in everything she does. Her ambition, and laughter, and joy in life is a legacy all in itself and something that her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren all hope to carry along in their lives as well.
