Irma Jean (Torrence) Jackson was born on November 29, 1938 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame City of Canton, Ohio to the Reverend & Mrs. Price Alexander (Susie) Torrence. She joined sister June (the eldest), Delores (second in command) and would later become the big sister to little brother David (the only boy out of the bunch).
Irma came from a family of talented singers capable of tearing down the house at a moment’s notice; as a teen she sang in the family musical group called the “Harmonettes” along with cousin Nacoleon, her sister Delores and others and spent most of her life singing in the church choir while regularly ushering in the spirit as a soloist. Nicknamed “Moochie” by childhood friend Gracie Mae Newell and affectionately called “Ma” by her children, she grew up to be a beautiful young woman with a good head on her shoulders. She attended and graduated from McKinley Senior High School, where she met star football player Frasker Jackson, who would later win her heart and request her hand in marriage. They were united in holy matrimony at ages 17 and 20 in 1955 and would later have five children. She was a member of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and worked at the Hoover Company for 29 years, where she retired in 2001.
Her children (and family in general) meant the world to her. She prided herself in rearing each of her children to be God-fearing, responsible adults. She lived by example; one of her teaching models was that an “idle mind was the devil’s playground,” so she ensured that her children knew the Lord and were actively involved in church ministry as well as extra-curricular activities in school and in the community.
Irma was preceded in death by her parents Price & Susie Torrence, eldest sister June Fontes, younger brother David Torrence, special niece Deborah Carter and her dear sisters in Christ Bertha Nash, Evelyn Wilcoxon and Mable Gordon. On Friday, July 5th, 2019 while holding the hand of her first-born Timothy, she peacefully transitioned to the heavenly realm to claim her wings. Left behind to carry on her legacy is her beloved sister Delores Reese, her children; Timothy Jackson, Elizabeth E. Jackson, Pamela J. Wilcox (Mark D. Wilcox), Irma J. Jackson and Patricia A. Jackson; stepchildren; Barry Anthony, LaMont Jackson, Daphne Ball-Plunkett and Tiana Jackson; fifteen grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren, special nieces Rosa Dotson and Yolanda Torrence as well as a host of other relatives and friends who all knew and loved her dearly.
She will be missed and forever loved. Ma, Your Legacy Remains…
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