Update: Former Mayor Joe B. Jackson dies on The Murfreesboro Post

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Update: Former Mayor Joe B. Jackson dies

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Murfreesboro’s longest serving mayor Joe B. Jackson died Tuesday.

Click here for information on services. Flags on city buildings are being flown at half-staff in his honor.

Jackson served as mayor of Murfreesboro from 1982-1998, during an historic time of growth and prosperity in the city.

“He was a wonderful mayor,” said current Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg. “He was kind, thoughtful and very farsighted in growth in our economy and growth in our neighborhoods. He was really a citizen mayor.”

“He was a kind, loving and caring person who always tried to make the best decision, …” Bragg said. “He fostered the wonderful city government we enjoy today.”

Jackson enjoyed a 30-year career in Murfreesboro city politics as a city councilman, vice mayor and finally mayor. Jackson was named Tennessee Mayor of the Year in 1994.

TMP file photo by Kelly Hite
Former Mayor Joe B. Jackson, poses with Police Commissioner Bill Jones
during the annual Murfreesboro police department Christmas luncheon last year.

A standout MTSU athlete, World War II veteran and successful businessman in the roofing industry, Jackson became mayor just as Murfreesboro took off on an unprecedented growth spurt that saw the city double in size during his tenure.

Among the many steps forward for the city during Jacksons’ service were the Civic Plaza, including a new city hall and Linebaugh Library, St. Clair Senior Center and the start of the Murfreesboro Greenway System.

Sheriff Truman Jones said Jackson was a good friend to everyone and easy to talk with.

“Murfreesboro was lucky to have a leader like him,” Jones said. “His vision helped Murfreesboro grow into what it is today. We’ll miss him as a friend.”

Bragg ordered the flags to fly at half-mast in Jackson’s memory.

City Manager Roger Haley said he knew Jackson for 50 years.
“Joe always sought to be fair open minded and above all honest,” Haley said.

Haley talked to Jackson during his hospital stay. Jackson was positive about getting better.
Haley’s best memory of Jackson came the night Jackson defeated Haley in the mayor’s race in 1982.

Haley entered Jackson’s home and Jackson gave him a bear hug.

“This race is over,” Jackson told Haley. “Tomorrow let’s get to work.”

Haley said, “I looked him in the eye and said the best man won. And the best man did win.”

“We both respected each other and had a wonderful friendship before the race,” Haley said. “We came out of it with friendship stronger than when we went in. That’s the way two men ought to conduct themselves.”

Jackson served on virtually every board and commission in the city. He was especially proud of the Murfreesboro Airport, Senior Citizens Center and the original Patterson Park Community Center. He promoted Murfreesboro and MTSU every day, letting people know how important the relationship was, the city manager noted.

“We lost a great champion,” Haley said.

Jackson was in the Marines from 1943 to 45, serving in the Pacific Theater, and enrolled at Middle Tennessee State in the fall of 1946.

“It was a wonderful place and it sold me when I visited,” Jackson said in a recent interview.

The student body “was most friendly group that I met with many people looking to get back into place after the war,” he said. “It offered the peace and quiet I was looking for."

His search for peace and quiet was understandable.

Jackson’s tour of duty took him to a dot on the map of the South Pacific called Iwo Jima where he landed in a shell hole on top of a high school classmate from Chattanooga.

At Middle Tennessee State he played on legendary Coach Charles “Bubber” Murphy's first Blue Raider football team.

In 2004, Jackson was among the first class of inductees at the new Emmett and Rose Kennon Hall of Fame building.

After graduation, he taught school in Chattanooga and went on to law school with what he had left with the GI bill.

He passed the bar when he moved back to Murfreesboro and instead of pursuing the legal profession, got involved in the construction industry.

Tagged under Blue Raider hall of fame, Chattanooga Central, Joe B. Jackson, Mayor dies, Mayor Jackson, MTSU, Murfreesboro mayor

Member Opinions:

By: Fitzcomm on 4/22/08
Joe was the ultimate gentleman, and I'm sure that's exactly how he would want to be remembered. He was also a savvy businessman, a shrewd politician and a dedicated public servant, yet "gentleman" is the moniker I will always associate with Joe.

By: RCCitizen on 4/23/08
Mayor Jackson was such a wonderful friend. Always a smile on his face and a kind word. They say that when a person like Mayor Jackson dies it is like closing a library. He will be missed.