The Mississippi Link
Condolences are extended to The Mississippi Link photographer Kevin Maurice Robinson and the Robinson family as they morn the loss of his mother Jennifer Joyce Jackson Robinson, who was a manager with the Mississippi Department of Transportation. She died June 11 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC).
Numerous family, friends and coworkers gathered at Black’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church on Robinson Street Wednesday, June 18, 2008, for her 11 a.m. funeral.
“She was a person of great perseverance and tanascity for moving forward,” said friend and church member Mary Washing-ton. Washington, the widow of the late JPD officer Charles Washington, said, “As a friend – if someone needed her [Robinson], she was there; she was genuinely concerned. As a church member, she was an excellent leader, very active, dedicated and had a spirit for pressing through obstacles.”
During her funeral, her Pastor Rev. John O. McNeal described her as a person who wore many hats. “But those hats have now turned into a crown,” he said. “Jennifer taught us all how to suffer in dignity; how to suffer and still have faith. God has her resume and has stamped it, ‘blessed.’”
Her son Kevin said, “My fondest memory of my mother was her telling me in late 1983 that after 13 years, I was about to become a brother.” “On March 3, 1984, Brett Jermaine Robinson was born.”
Kevin Robinson, who is also a military veteran, said his mother has met many people over her ‘great’ life. “It always made me wonder why she never ran for a political position,” he said.
Although she was not a politician, her son Brett Robinson said he certainly appreciates the fact that she hand many friends. He will always be grateful for her challenging his school expulsion – an expulsion he said was clearly due to an innocent mistake. “My mother gathered 100 to 150 character references on my behalf; I mean she got people who were known in the community like Council Kenneth Stokes, the reverend from the church, other teachers, students, and whoever she could,” he said. “It was amazing to have someone that strong to stand up for me that way. I’ll never forget what my mom did for me.” He is now a recent graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in general business.
“Jennifer and I were neighbors for many years,” said Jackie Hampton, publisher of The Mississippi Link. “She made certain neighbors were not strangers to one another. There were times she and Garvin would invite all the neighbors on our street to their house for fun and relaxation. As a result, we all became very close and looked out for one another’s children. I am still able to periodically look after her son Kevin as he does freelance photography for The Mississippi Link. He possesses her same energy and compassion for assisting others whenever he can. Jennifer will be missed by so many.”
Jennifer Joyce Jackson Robinson was born Feb. 11, 1952, in Lafayette County, Miss. to the late Johnnie Frank and Zula Mae Carothers Jackson as the third of six children. She united in marriage on Dec. 21, 1971, to Garland Robinson, ‘a loving, attentive husband’ for 36 years.
She was an active member of Black’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Jackson, where the Reverend John O. McNeal is the pastor. She held such positions as: president of the Pastor’s Aid Society, member of Black’s Chapel Adult Choir; member of Women of Black’s Chapel Ministry, Wednesday Night Bible Study, Christmas Banquet Committee, Women’s Day Com-mittee, Decorations Committee, and she provided all flowers, corsages, and baskets for church functions. Making floral arrangements was one of her talents.
An alumna of the University of Mississippi, she earned her BBA degree in Marketing in 1973.
Her professional background has included retail management, human services, city services, and most recently transportation. Since 1993 she has worked for MDOT. “Jennifer was kind of a unique individual who truly believed in the customer being served first and foremost,” said her supervisor Charles Carr, director of MDOT’s Public Transit Division. “She always wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing for the right purpose.” Carr said Robinson was ‘pretty self-less’ when it came to taking the time to get a needed job done. “In other words, she was not concerned about the time it takes, as long as it was done right,” he said.
Her social and civic activities included: a member of the City of Jackson Planning Board; president of Valley North Im-provement Association; a member of Jackson Association of Neighborhoods (JAN); a member of American Business Women’s Association (ABWA); Artistic Imaginators; Grove Park Junior Golf Clinic; Murrah High School PTA and President of the Murrah High School Band Booster Club.
In addition to her husband and sons, also cherishing her memory are five sisters Marjorie J. (Theodore) Beckum of St. Louis; Sheila A. Hill of Baton Rouge, La; Sharron D. Coffie of Racine, Wisc.; Norris McReynolds of Los Angeles; Doris Chandler of Washington, DC.; a brother: Jimmy R. (Vivian) Carrouthers of Virginia Beach, Va; an Uncle, Alvin (Helen) Carrouthers of Bowling Green, Ky.; two brothers-in-law, Robert Lee Robinson of Jackson and Lawrence Robinson (Clearetha) of Bentonia, Miss. She was preceded in death by her sisters Vanessa R. Jackson of Jackson, Ruby Hubert of Chicago and Johnnie Cole of St. Louis. She also leaves a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
The family requests that memorial gifts be made in her name Jennifer Joyce Jackson Robinson to the American Cancer Society located at 1380 Livingston Lane, Jackson, MS 39213.
“I know that she is resting. I just hope that when I am called home, my mother will be at gate waiting to greet me with a warm hug,” said Kevin Robinson.
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