Carl Kenneth Jackson was born April 11, 1927 in Glasgow, KY
to Ernest Harlow Jackson and Nannie May Piercy. Being the youngest of five
children, family became an important part of his life at an early age as he
lost his father when he was eight years old. His oldest brother, Joe Lee
Jackson, became a surrogate father to him and he was supported to a great extent,
by his other three siblings, Margaret, Thomas and Paul. He grew up on a farm on
Glover Road, off the Burkesville Road, and use to walk to Vernon school on
Vernon School Road, where he received his education. He was baptized in Falling
Timber Creek and was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church.
He enlisted in the U. S. Army during World War II and served
in both France and Germany. After his honorable discharge from the Army in
1949, he returned to Glasgow, KY, where he met Roberta Ann Moran. They were
married on November 2, 1949 by his uncle, the Rev. J. L. Piercy (Jehu Louis), a
protégé of the Rev. Henry Clay Morrison. They were married in his uncle’s house
in Glasgow, KY, which he later bought from him in 1959. As a bonus, the house
included his uncle’s extensive library of religious and other literary works.
They had two children, Steven Lee and Margaret Ann. Tragedy struck his life
again on August 11, 1965 when his wife was killed in a car accident.
Although Carl had no college education, his entrepreneurial
spirit was well versed in business. His business career started in many places
in Glasgow including, as co-owner of J & F Furniture and later, as the
operating manager of the Uptowner Hotel and Restaurant.
After leaving Glasgow, he went to Elizabethtown, KY, where he managed the
Holiday Inn and Restaurant off of I-65. He later retired from Lowe’s as the
building products manager, after traveling with Lowe’s to Owensboro, KY,
Nashville, TN, and San Marcos, TX.
Carl’s life also included many civic and political
endeavors, including serving as a Glasgow city council member for two terms,
where he was greatly admired and respected by the people he represented. His
family also had a history of Masons, which he became one in his early career,
and eventually became a Master of Allen Masonic Lodge #24. He always loved his
association with the Masons.
In the end of the Rev. J. L .Piercy’s life, Carl was a
dedicated caregiver and spent many hours with him at the Glasgow Community
Hospital. One of his last road trips from his retirement home in Louisville,
KY, before his death on January 13, 2015, was to Morrison Park. He was so proud
of the wonderful work that had been done by the many volunteers and the lasting
footprint that Morrison Park would have in Barren County. He would be so happy
and proud today to have the Tabernacle dedicated to him.
