By Dr. Rebecca Laird, professor emeritus and former dean of the Reuben Welch School of Theology and Christian Ministry
Words matter, especially when attempting to describe the Rev. Dr. James H. Jackson (B.A. 41, M.A., 43), professor of speech for more than 40 years. When asked, those who knew him searched for an apt word: winsome, consistent, disciplined, uplifting, polite, prepared, service-oriented, and unfailingly kind. At 105 years old, Dr. Jackson died on July 30, 2025.
I met Dr. Jackson as a freshman literature/speech communications major when he was assigned as my academic advisor. He was 58 years old and newly returned to the classroom after serving 18 years as dean of students.
I knew a bit about this lanky professor with the husky, low voice who walked with the upright posture of the disciplined beach runner and health enthusiast that he was. My father, the Rev. Dr. Irving W. Laird, served as dean of students at Northwest Nazarene College, during a similar timeframe. My dad and Jim commiserated about the challenges of having a vocation to mentor students and a job often focused more on student conduct challenges. When Dr. Jackson retired from the university in 1989, he reflected on his career. He labeled his years as dean of students “The Middle Kingdom.” Student revolts and cultural shifts roiled the country and college campuses. Based on James 3:17-18, his motto became, “The wisdom that is from above is pure, peaceloving, gentle, conciliatory, tolerant, with no partiality, no hypocrisy.”
Dr. Jackson called his return to the classroom “The Festive Years.” During this season, he was my professor for three classes: “Persuasion,” “Intercultural Communication,” and “Oral Interpretation.” In “Oral Interpretation,” I recall nervously standing in front of my peers on the stage in the slightly musty-smelling Solomon Theatre to present a selection from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Dr. Jackson’s Ph.D. dissertation from USC had been on evaluating both content and delivery in undergraduate speeches, and he set high standards. All these decades later, in my memory’s eye, I see Dr. Jackson, sitting tall in the front row, stage left, eager to listen, his blue eyes fixed on me, nodding steadily with affirmation. He wanted his students to flourish as he sought to help us try new skills. In my senior year, he called me in to tell me about an internship at Zoonooz, the magazine of the San Diego Zoo. Internships were rare then, but he had his eyes on my success and matched me to an opportunity that helped open the door to my first job in publishing shortly after graduation.
I was one of a multitude. By his own count, Dr. Jackson estimated, “It is possible that I have attended over 5,200 chapel services, 320 faculty meetings, and 400 committee meetings … Nearly 10,000 students have been scheduled into my classes, individual prayer and counseling sessions, registration planning and co-curricular involvements.”
“It is possible that I have attended over 5,200 chapel services, 320 faculty meetings, and 400 committee meetings … Nearly 10,000 students have been scheduled into my classes, individual prayer and counseling sessions, registration planning and co-curricular involvements.”
After Dr. Jackson retired, he took on the role of visitation pastor at San Diego First Church of the Nazarene. He moved to White Sands La Jolla, a senior living community, after his beloved wife, Alice, died in 2008. There he became the chaplain, a position he held until he was over 100 years old.
At Dr. Jackson’s funeral, on August 18, 2025, the room was filled to overflowing. Our final tribute to this great, humble minister was to sing his theme verse from Charles Wesley’s hymn “A Charge to Keep I Have.” We lifted our voices in thanks to God and in awe of James Harvey Jackson’s steadfast life of service. To serve the present age, my calling to fulfill, O may it all my powers engage to do my Master’s will.
