The End of an Era

This week marked the end of an era.  My great uncle on my father's side, Jack Dickson, passed this week after complications from a fall.  He was 96.  He was smart, intelligent man who lived every second of every day with an aggressive gusto.

When I was a much younger boy -- and not long after he finally retired -- he and his wife (my Aunt Myrna) travelled the world.  I still have the many postcards, stamps, and mementos they sent back from their journeys.

We had the opportunity to see him on Father's Day Weekend before his fall.  My niece and nephew met him for the first time, and I was struck by how much he had changed since the first time I remember meeting him when I was five.  Back then, he was still of the mind that children were meant to be seen and not heard, and so after brief introductions and a visit, I was sent to the den to occupy myself with my Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.  But this time, he was engaging and approachable to a very precocious three year old and very cute and curious one year old.

I've posted his obituary below.  One thing it doesn't mention, he was the son-in-law of Arch Everson, former Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican Taxpayer's Association and plaintiff of Everson vs Ewing Township.

Rest in peace Uncle Jack.  I am sure Debbie has the single malt poured and waiting.  

Jack G. Dickson, of 167 Aster Court, son of the late John C. and Ethel Gabriel Dickson of Perth Amboy, died Sunday, August 5, 2007 at the age of 96. He was predeceased in 1994 by his wife of 54 years, Myrna Everson Dickson. He is survived by a sister, Lucille Marchese and her husband, John, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and a sister, Caroline Jacks of Tequesta, Florida. His brother, Robert, predeceased him in 1996. He is honored and remembered by his children, Valerie Shuman and her husband, Stan of Clinton, and Cheri Sargent of Whitehouse Station, along with grandchildren, Tara and Jack Gonzalez, Dayna Shuman, of Hillsborough, Ross Shuman of Hollywood Hills, CA, Brent Sargent, Kyle Sargent and his wife, Jennifer, of Bozeman, Montana, and great-grandchildren, Jesse, Sydney and Isabelle Gonzalez of Hillsborough as well as an extended family of beloved nieces and nephews.

Born and raised in Perth Amboy, he graduated Perth Amboy High School and attended the Universities of Illinois and Florida until the Depression prohibited further education. He worked for the R & H Chemical Co., the N.J. Taxpayers Assn and the Amateur Theater Guild. He was Director of Advertising and Assistant to the Publisher of the Amboy News from 1933 to 1942 before becoming Personnel Administrator and Director of Planning of Sales and Production for Merck & Company from 1942 to 1955. He worked with the War Production Board during World War II and was on loan to the U.S. Government in Washington serving as Chief of the Drug and Chemical Section of the Office of Price Stabilization during the Korean Conflict. In the ensuing years, he formed J.G. Dickson and Associates, an Executive Placement Employment Agency. In his retirement years, he settled in to the “career of a lifetime” for Travel Dynamics as Promotions Director for profession-specific seminar cruises. He and Myrna traveled the world as he negotiated travel and curriculum arrangements in the USSR, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and China.

A sailing enthusiast, he was Governor and Commodore of the Raritan Yacht Club in the late Forties. In 1949, he moved his family to the Oak Hills section of Edison where he was active in community affairs as President of the Oak Hills Civic Assn and Director and VP of the Metuchen YMCA. In addition, he was deeply involved in the Edison politics. After forty years in Edison, he divided his time between Ports O’Call in North Palm Beach, FL and Aster Court in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington where he resided until his death. After complications resulting from a fall, he died peacefully in his sleep at Hunterdon County Medical Center where he received unparalleled attention from its caring staff. He had a wonderful life amid family and friends and he will be sorely missed.

A celebration of his life will be held for family and friends at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, NJ, the Peripheral Neuropathy Foundation of NJ or the Tourette’s Syndrome Assn. of NJ.