» It's rare for a husband and wife both to become centenarians, but the kindly Jack and Norma Jackson of Omaha did so — including 76 years of marriage.
Norma died in October at 101 and Jack died on Jan. 21 at 100. They had traveled the world together — 47 countries and 49 U.S. states, missing only Oregon.
Norma had been a schoolteacher, a principal and a supervisor of student teachers. Jack ran a newspaper advertising business, retiring in 1972 and enjoying nearly 40 years of retirement. They loved to fish and play golf.
"Gentleman Jack" was a Yankee Doodle Dandy, born on the Fourth of July — and the couple often planned their trips around his and the nation's birthday. They took their last trip well into their 90s — an ocean cruise in 2005.
For 71 years, Jack was a member of the Omaha Business Men's Association, which had started during the Great Depression as the Young Business Men's Association. The group still meets every Thursday for lunch and hears interesting speakers, who often are women, though OBMA has no female members.
"Jack was a very regular member until three or four years ago, when his hearing started to go," said friend Bruce Haney, 77, who knew him for 61 years.
His real name was Darwyn, but everyone called him Jack — unless they used his nickname, "Musky," which he got after catching a big fish.
Jack and Norma attended Husker football games for many years, and he usually wore red pants. The couple lived conservatively and invested well, and had 'round-the-clock care toward the end.
Very few Nebraska couples are known to have lived to 100. Maynard and Agnes Wall of Omaha each lived to 103; he died in 2006 and she in 2010. Oliver and Sophia DeMuth of Ayr, Neb., lived to 101 and 111, respectively, dying in 1965 and 1977. There may be others but not many.
Friends said the Jacksons' parents also were long-lived, but not quite to 100. Jack and Norma had good longevity genes but didn't pass them on — they had no children.
» The story of the old Children's Hospital and polio (Jan. 22 column) brought back memories to a number of readers.
JoAnn Texley worked as an aide in 1953, assigned to care for three boys with polio in one room — two on chest respirators and one in an iron lung.
One snowy evening, she had to get something from a room across the hall.
"When I came out," she recalled, "a handsome cowboy smiled at me and tipped his hat. It was Gene Autry."
The boys were thrilled, she said, adding that there was no news coverage of the singing cowboy's private visit. She later learned that only two of the boys survived.
» The Colorado Springs Business Journal noted the city's high office vacancy rate of 26.7 percent compared with Omaha's "comfortable" 11.8 percent.
Colorado real estate consultant Jason Baumgartner said Omaha has a healthy business environment partly because Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is based there. But Baumgartner said there is a lot of industry and economic activity that he wouldn't have expected.
Of Omaha's business and civic leaders, Baumgartner said: "They're doing well. Wouldn't it be great to find out why so we can copy that?"
» At last weekend's 98th Central High Road Show, student Hal Emas became the fourth generation in his family to perform.
His mother, Leigh (Bernstein) Emas, said Hal's great-grandfather performed in 1916, the second year of the variety show. Three generations watched this year's show, and Leigh hopes one day to see a fifth generation perform.
She said many other Omaha families also can trace generations back through Central. "There are not many high schools around the country that have our rich history."
» Like the fictional Lake Wobegon children of public radio's "Prairie Home Companion," Omaha always seems to be "above average" in national rankings — often well above.
Vitals.com, an online service that provides consumers with data about doctors, sifted through 314,000 "wait-time reports" from patients in doctors' offices to come up with national rankings.
Omaha had the fourth-shortest average wait, 16.9 minutes, a mere 18 seconds behind third-place Milwaukee, 30 seconds behind second-place Seattle and 36 seconds behind first-place Minneapolis.
El Paso had the longest average waits, 29.3 minutes, followed by Memphis, Miami and Las Vegas.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1132, michael.kelly@owh.com
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