DeAnn Jackson

DeAnn Olson Dirr Jackson

March 1, 1946 ~ July 17, 2016

DeAnn Olson Dirr Jackson, a woman of great faith, love and compassion who had an undeniable soft spot for bald-headed babies and ice-cold Hershey’s Kisses, has ascended the stairway to heaven. She will be remembered for always putting others first and teaching us to appreciate the subtle beauties -- and even the absurdities -- of life.

Although her frail, old body finally failed her, succumbing to a massive stroke, DeAnn’s childlike spirit shines bright. Her friends and family can still feel the warmth of her twinkling emerald green eyes and hear her thunderous laughter echoing in the skies.

If you want to understand another human being, all you really have to do is take a peek at that person’s bookshelf. DeAnn devoured nonfiction, particularly biographies recounting true stories of personal triumph. She had an almost savantlike gift for remembering specific details about other people’s lives, famous or not.

She was such a voracious reader, in fact, that she was nearly unbeatable at Scrabble. She was certainly unbeatable when it came to anything involving chocolate. Her rocky road Christmas fudge is famous, and she enjoyed the peculiar habit of keeping her Hershey’s Kisses refrigerated at all times. For the record, they really do taste better cold.

Her intense empathy for others, embodied by a lifetime of service that included babysitting countless children and befriending the friendless, matched her deep love of nature, beauty and God. She maintained an immaculately clean and gorgeous home, tastefully adorned with pastoral art. She once said, “I wish I had every Hummel.”

DeAnn sensed a divine connection between children and God, starting with her one and only son, Leo Tyson Dirr, who will always be her beloved baby boy. She called him by many names over the years, including Beavis and Bozo Butt, but her favorite was always Angel Baby. In her words, “When God gives you something, you love it.”

DeAnn is survived by a sister, Marie Olson Speth; a brother, Hal Olson; her husband, Wayne Jackson; his two children Jinjer and Jeff; and a large extended family with deep roots in Weber County. She is now resting in peace on a heavenly perch, singing angelic lullabies, and showering babies with chocolate-covered forehead smooches.

Graveside services will be held on Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 11 a.m. at Lindquist’s Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch, 1718 Combe Rd.  Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary.