Allan Cates Jackson

Allan Cates Jackson slipped peacefully into Heaven in his sleep on October 4, 2015. He was born on September 23, 1939 on a farm in the Arkansas River bottoms near Morrilton, Ark. to Arland Carl and Bessie (Cates) Jackson. He grew up farming with his family near Mt. Petit Jean, and graduated from Morrilton High School and Arkansas Tech University as the first in his family to earn a college degree. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his brother, Don Harlan Jackson.
During his time at college, Al began pursuing his pilot's license and was a founding member of a skydiving club. He participated in ROTC and proudly served in the United States Army upon receiving his degree. He was the first officer to ever be sworn in mid-air during a parachute jump, leaving the airplane an enlisted man and coming safely back to earth a Second Lieutenant. Al was a member of the 101st Airborne Division (the "Screaming Eagles"), and served as a personal aide to General William Westmoreland during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
While stationed in Fort Campbell, Ky., Al met and married Gency Fay Wall of Clarksville, Tenn., who survives him after 51 years of marriage. Upon his discharge from the military, they moved to Nashville, Tenn. where Al sold aircraft and piloted a helicopter for the Sheriff's Department. In 1969, they relocated to Rogers, Ark. where Al had been hired as Chief Pilot to develop and lead a flight department for Cooper Communities, Inc. After many years flying in corporate and commercial aviation he entered aircraft sales and service, and operated a fixed-base operation at the Rogers airport with his son and partners. In the later years of his career he transported patients for local air ambulance transport Aero Med Express. Al was extremely proud of his safety record, flying over 2 million miles during the span of his career without a single incident.
Al was an avid motorsports enthusiast, and enjoyed all types of auto racing from regional dirt short tracks to larger NHRA and NASCAR events. He attended races regularly with his close friends throughout the years, and was an avid supporter of local race teams.
Along with his devoted wife Gency, Al is also survived by his immediate family: daughter, Jilana Johnson and her husband Tim of Bentonville; son, Allan (A.J.) Jackson and wife Heather of Brooklyn, N.Y.; three beloved grandchildren, Haley Blackwell, her husband Marc and his daughter Erin of Bentonville, Taylor Barnes, and Tanner Barnes, both of Bentonville, and a large extended family.
Al never met a stranger and showed kindness to everyone he encountered. After a life well-lived, he leaves us rich in memories and in the knowledge that we were truly loved and cherished, and will see him again someday.