Cochran – Jo Anne Christian Jackson, age 76, passed away Thursday, January 4, 2024, at Pinewood Manor Nursing Home in Hawkinsville. Memorial services will be held Sunday, January 7, 2024, at 2:00 P.M. at Cochran First Methodist Church. Burial will be private.

Dr. Jackson, a long-time resident of Cochran and member of Cochran First United Methodist Church, was the daughter of the late George C. and Doris E. Christian of Jonesboro, Georgia. Dr. Jackson graduated from Forest Park High School, in Forest Park, Georgia. She received her BSN from Georgia College in Milledgeville, and her MSN in psychiatric nursing from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. She graduated from the University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa with her EdD in Higher Education Leadership. Dr. Jackson's nursing career spanned decades. After serving bedside at Central State Hospital early in her career, she later served as the Director of Quality Assurance and Staff Development at Coliseum Psychiatric Hospital in Macon. She continued her nursing career as nursing faculty at Floyd College in Rome. She served Middle Georgia College in Cochran as Chair of the Nursing Department and then later as Chair of the Health Sciences Division until her retirement. Dr. Jackson had a passion for training and educating nurses. Her career has left an indelible impact on the local healthcare community through the many generations of nurses she taught.

She is survived by her two daughters, Emily (David) Wiegert and Maggie (Ron) Daniels, both of Cochran; three grandchildren, Lucy Wiegert, Abby Wiegert, and Joanna Daniels; three brothers, George (Martha) Christian, Tom (Connie) Christian, and Mike Christian; and three nieces Callie (Juan) Ortiz, Reese Christian, and Amber Griffin.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made in honor of Dr. Jackson to Cochran First Methodist Church, P.O. Box 87, Cochran, GA 31014.

The family will greet friends after the service Sunday at Cochran First Methodist Church.