Peggy Sue Jackson

Peggy Sue Jackson, age 79, passed away peacefully in her sleep September 28, 2022 at Beehive Assisted Living in Edgewood, New Mexico after a long health decline. We rejoice that she is now at peace in the presence of God. Peggy’s life will be celebrated at Harris-Hanlon Mortuary in Moriarty, New Mexico at 10am on Saturday, October 15th, which would have been her 80th birthday. Peggy was born in Abilene, Texas on October 15, 1942 where she had a happy childhood as a rancher’s daughter. She graduated from Abilene High School in 1960 and Texas Tech University in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History. As a life-long learner, she earned a Master’s degree in Education in 1993 and a Master’s degree in Political Science in 2007 both from the University of New Mexico. In 2002, she was awarded a James Madison Graduate Fellowship which allowed her to study at Georgetown University. She shared her love of learning and influenced thousands of lives as a classroom teacher for 35 years. Throughout her career, she taught middle school and high school students and concluded her time in the classroom at Moriarty High School where she taught AP US History and AP Government. Always an advocate for civics education, she and her students participated in the “We the People” program and competitions. Peggy took countless groups of students on trips to Washington DC to learn first hand about our country's founding and to see our government in action. Peggy was recognized as an outstanding educator by Albuquerque Public Schools, Moriarty Public Schools, and the state of New Mexico. She was named New Mexico Social Studies Teacher of the Year in 2005 and then was honored as Teacher of the Year for the State of New Mexico in 2010. For that recognition, she represented New Mexico in Washington DC where she was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama. During the course of her life, Peggy met 5 presidents, numerous senators and congress members, as well as elected state leaders. She participated in and supported various political campaigns, but as an educator, she remained politically neutral, always desiring “not to teach her students what to think, but how to think!” From 2013-2018, Peggy served on the executive board of the National Council for the Social Studies and was President in 2016-2017. She planned and hosted the national NCSS conference in Washington DC in December 2016 which was one of her proudest moments. Peggy also served on the state executive committee for the National Board of Certified Teachers. She earned her National Board Certification in 2003 and mentored many educators helping them gain that great distinction. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international society for key women educators, whose mission aligns with her own: to promote professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education. Her final and highest professional honor came in 2018 when she was inducted to the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. Peggy was known as a passionate, loving, and caring person. She offered her friendship to anyone and had a way of making everyone feel special and loved. She held fiercely to her faith in Jesus and formed friendships throughout the years in church groups and Bible studies, maintaining some for over 50 years. Peggy was excellent at correspondence, and not just emails and texts; Peggy wrote handwritten notes on well-made stationary with her beautiful and distinctive cursive writing. Receiving a letter or note from Peggy was a true blessing. In the last difficult year, it was returned to her 10 fold as so many of her friends and family sent her cards and notes of encouragement which meant so much to her and to her family. Peggy was preceded in death by her parents DH Jefferies, Jr. and Francis Wood Jefferies. She is survived by her loving husband of almost 29 years, William Jackson, her only daughter, Larissa Polk Cox and son-in-law, John Cox of Houston, and her grandchildren Connor Cox of Boston, Cassidy Cox of Dallas, and Camille Cox of Waco, as well as her brother David Jefferies of Abilene, and her nephew and his wife Cullum and Kris Jefferies of Dallas. Additionally, she loved and was loved by her family through Bill Jackson, including Gray and Becki Jackson of Denver, Scott and Dawn Jackson of Albuquerque, and Thomas Jackson of Los Cruces; grandchildren Courtney Wray, Steven and Nikki Malizia, Andrew and Kamry Malizia, Travis Jackson, Katie Jackson, and 5 great-grandchildren. She also loved and was loved by her family through Charles Polk, including Deborah and Dale DeBerry of Austin, Denise and Doug Barry of Sundown, grandchildren Dawn and Jeremy Stump, Drew and Kara DeBerry, and 6 great-grandchildren. Peggy freely said the words “I love you!” to everyone she knew and her friends and family felt and returned that love in abundance. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Good Samaritan Foundation Hospice Care www.good-sam.com/foundation or to a charity of your choice in Peggy’s memory.