Magnificent Boo Boo

Lora Ruthe (Thompson) Jackson was born Oct. 29, 1920, the eldest daughter of John Lyle and Florence (Ector) Thompson, one of four girls and a boy who died in infancy. As the oldest, she was often called upon to do some parenting as a youngster. She described the year when she was 12 or 13 that her working parents asked her to be in charge of Christmas gifts for all the kids. She was given a budget and told where to hide everything. (Surely this was the beginning of her role as the Christmas Fairy for so many years!)

Life wasn't easy. The Great Depression hit her family hard. Struggling family members would often come to live with them. One of her sisters went to live with relatives in East Texas for a while. She remembered delivering payments to the loan sharks in Dallas so they wouldn't give her daddy a hard time for being late. But there were wonderful times, too. Imagine living in a household with four very lively girls! Ruthe, Mary, Doris, and Laura laughed and danced and made the most of what they had.

As she grew into adulthood during the thick of World War II, Boo Boo experienced the joy of motherhood alongside the grief of broken relationship. As a single mom, she worked as executive secretary to the night shift manager at North American Aviation, known for her typing skills (>100 words per minute on a manual typewriter) and her creative response to the privations of war (when her requisition for pencils was turned down, she re-worked the request with the description "wood-encased lead cylinders" and was approved).

Vernon and Ruthe Jackson on the tarmac at North American with a P-51 Mustang.

At the plant, she caught the eye of a handsome fella supervising sheet metal work on the line. He eventually proposed in the parking lot after shift one night; they woke her parents up from a sound night's sleep and found a Justice of the Peace to make it official. Thus began the love story between Vernon and Ruthe that lasted for so many years. One time on the phone, Bun Bun said, "She's crazy about me." Boo Boo replied, "I'm crazy when he's about me." That pretty much sums it up!

Boo Boo was a modern woman. She worked outside of the home all of her life and was an entrepreneur, both in the sign business with Uncle Ernie, and as partner in her husband's vending business. Her gifts in organization and public speaking propelled her to leadership roles in local and national PTA, Keep Texas Beautiful, and Dallas County School Board. Her ultimate public service was to the City of Grand Prairie, where she served for a combined 28 years as a member of the city council, with many of those years working as Mayor Pro Tem. She was still in office at her death Aug. 9, 2013 at age 92!

However, these aren't the things I'm thinking of most today. I'm thinking of the time she was in Austin for a meeting and decided to surprise us with a visit - she came down to school and took us out for the afternoon for fun. Riding through the Robo car wash for entertainment. Going to Cicero's or Kip's for hot fudge sundaes. Playing board games like Monopoly or Pollyanna (she was so patient!). Enjoying our favorite foods when we came to visit, because she always stocked up - maraschino cherries, grape juice in tiny bottles, cheese in a can, etc. (Didn't your grandmother let you eat cherries from a jar with a spoon?) Trips to the warehouse for jewelry or candy. Going to feed the ducks with her special duck food. Tea parties with the girls at Luby's with the little teapot of hot tea.



I'm thinking about the way she used words to build people up. Today I've looked through birthday cards from her and Bun Bun to see the phrases and pet names she used for me: "Love to a princess of the Lord..."; "Darling 'Ren-Ren'..."; "lovely lady..."; "what an inspiration you are...!" The thing is, I was just one recipient of her encouraging largesse. We always loved seeing what would be written in cards to the girls, including "genius," "princess," "brilliant," or "magnificent." The way she rolled her R's and used unnecessary quote marks and multiple exclamation points for emphasis. Her funny sayings, like "bigger than Dick Tracy" and "big as Dallas," or "everybody ought to go to Sunday school." When we were out in public, it was obvious that she had that same way of knowing what people needed and giving that encouragement.

Boo Boo loved kids and was loved by them! As a child, I would sit next to her in church and she would put me in a trance by lightly tickling my arms. She always had our favorite Life Savers and gum in her purse. She would dance babies around with her special baby song (doot-doot, a-lotta-doot-doot-dooty), and she offered up her costume jewelry to keep little ones entertained. For years she taught Bible class at Burbank Gardens. She's one of my role models as a minister to children. Every grandchild and great-grandchild who came along was drawn into her love and bounty.

More than anything, Boo Boo loved God. She was the prayer warrior, the keeper of the prayer list. Rain or shine, sickness or health, she managed to be at prayer breakfast 99% of the Saturdays since it began, and this was just an extension of her daily life of prayer. This was her quiet ministry. There's no telling how many people all around the world have been blessed because of her faithful prayers, and that includes me.

Go big or go home. That might be one way to describe my grandmother's approach to life. She really lived! But I think I like this description better:

Extravagant in love. 

Extravagant in life. 

Extravagant in faith.

Rest in peace, Boo Boo. I will miss you so much...but I know you'll have everything  organized when we join you and Mr. Jackson in heaven.

Boo Boo with all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Christmas 2012