Leslie Evelyn Sexton Jackson

Leslie Evelyn (Sitton) Jackson, a/k/a Leslie Sexton, was born on 4 March 1914 in Lindale, Smith County, Texas, the daughter of the late Dean and Esther (Lee) Sitton. She celebrated her 100th birthday on 4 March 2014. She died on Wednesday, 7 May 2014, at the Hospice in Tyler, Texas. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Home. Visitation at the Caudle-Rutledge Chapel, 206 West South Street, Lindale, Texas, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, 10 May 2014. Pastor Ronnie Stribble will officiate services at the Caudle-Rutledge Funeral Directors Chapel, 206 West South Street, Lindale, Texas 75771-0005, at 2:00 pm, on Sunday, 11 May 2014. Interment will be at the Hopewell Cemetery. Bennie Edmond, Dakota Farrias, David Jackson, Daniel Jackson, Steven Jackson and Danny James will serve as pall bearers. Leslie graduated valedictorian of Lindale High School in 1931. She received an academic scholarship and attended Mary Hardin Baylor University 1931 in Belton, Bell County, Texas, staying only one semester due to financial problems caused by family funds deposited in a bank in Swan, Texas, being lost due to the stock market crash in 1929. In 1932, Leslie met in church and married Troy Byrl Jackson (1911 - 1989) of Farmersville, Hunt County, Texas, who was attending college in Tyler. They had three children, Gary Dean Jackson born in 1935, Charlotte Anita Jackson born in 1940 (and died 1974) and Ronald Lynn Jackson born in 1943. Years later, her daughter, Charlotte Anita Jackson, graduated from Mary Hardin Baylor University, majoring in math. In 2012, Leslie was honored by the Lindale Independent School District as the oldest living graduate of Lindale High School. Leslie is a devout Christian and was a long - time member of the First Baptist Church of Lindale. She was an avid gardener and served as President of the Lindale Evening Garden Club. She was an outgoing person who made friends easily and greatly cherished those friendships. Her knowledge of Lindale, its environs and its people was phenomenal. She was an expert on the history of this area and was often consulted about significant events of the city and the county. Leslie is survived by her two sons, Gary Dean Jackson and Ronald Lynn Jackson, and his wife Bettie, four grandchildren: David Jackson, Daniel Jackson, Steven Jackson and Misty (Jackson) Overton and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Leslie was preceded in death by her three brothers, Jamie Sitton, Randolph Sitton and Doyle Wells and her daughter-in-law Gloria Ann (Galouye) Jackson. The family thanks Greenbrier Nursing Home for the care given to Leslie for five years and to Hospice of East Texas for its assistance in her final days.

Leslie Evelyn Sexton Jackson

March 4, 1914 - May 7, 2014