Dr. Calvin James Jackson

1935 - 2019

Calvin James Jackson, MD was born in New Iberia, Louisiana on December 28, 1935 to Clarence Jackson (dec) and Edna Lewis Jackson (dec) and passed on May 19, 2019 at the age of 83. He was an Air Force veteran who served in Korea before graduating from Xavier University in 1962. He attended Howard University & Medical School where in 1965 he received his masters in Cardiovascular Pharmacology followed by his Medical Doctor's degree in 1969. In 1970 he became a board certified physician and in 1973 was board certified specializing in Obstetrics & Gynecology. After the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, Dr. Jackson performed the first legal abortion in New Orleans. The resulting controversy over the practice eventually led him to strike out on his own and design, finance & construct the ultra-modern, multi-story Orleans Women's Clinic on Banks Street in 1977. For more than 40-years Dr. Jackson unapologetically provided gynecological services & general medical advice to women & men from all walks of life. As an advocate for safe abortive surgical procedures he became a target of anti-abortionists and survived many attacks on his business, reputation & person, including one in 1996 that almost cut his life short. Dr. Jackson retired in 2005 and sold his building to Tulane University Medical Center, just before Hurricane Katrina made landfall. Dr. Jackson was raised by his grandparents Julian Jackson and Antoinette Louviere Jackson after his mother died giving birth to his sister Edna Jackson Rowlett (dec; Reginald). He was stepson to Nettie Bell O'Brien Jackson, half brother to Murray Jackson Sr. (Marry Ann) and Ida Mae Jackson Dorsey (dec; Larry); stepson to Lillian Henry Jackson, half brother to Kirby Jackson (dec), Lois Jackson, and Eugene Jackson (Ireon). He married Marilyn Black Jackson, MD and had three children; Calvin J. Jackson Jr., Crystal D. Jackson Mangini (Jason), and Cary J. Jackson (dec). He married Vivian Broussard Jackson Guillory and had one child; David Ryan Jackson Guillory (Kodi), who subsequently bore his two grandchildren; David Ryan Jackson Guillory Jr. and Matthew Grant Jackson Guillory. Dr. Jackson had many relatives from Louisiana living in New Orleans, New Iberia, Baton Rouge, Abbeville, and Erath, as well as in Texas, Illinois, California, and many other parts of the country. Dr. Jackson enjoyed life, worked hard and played harder. As a resident of Kenner & Park Island he liked fishing, boating, cooking, eating, and socializing at many establishments around town such as A Touch Of Class and Harbor Seafood & Restaurant. Dr. Jackson became a prolific investor in corporate stocks and at one time directly owned a Philadelphia firm that manufactured timing screws and other equipment for use in the bottling industry. The family would like to thank his many dedicated employees over the years as well as all those who lovingly cared for him in his final days as he battled Parkinson's Disease, specifically his companion Ms. Elizabeth Ann Smith and all of the staff at Chateau Senior Living and Inspired Living & Memory Care. He will be missed by many. A memorial service will be held on Saturday June 1, 2019 at 2 pm at D. W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70125. Visitation will begin at 1 pm. Arrangements by D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave. Please visit www.rhodesfuneral.com to sign the online guestbook.