Martha Elizabeth Jackson

Martha Elizabeth Jackson (Schuhmacher) passed away in Danville, IN on May 3, 2020.

Martha was born in Summerfield Illinois on September 5, 1912, a daughter of the late Wilhelm F. and Elizabeth Schuhmacher (Shaffer). She was raised by her aunt and uncle in Springfield, IL.

Over her 107-year life she held a variety of jobs. In her youth she was a nanny, a maid, and did other domestic work. In the 1960’s she worked with young teens at Woodruff Place Baptist Church and in the early 1970’s, she worked for the Community Action Program (CAP) as part of the City’s poverty program. She was also a waitress for a time and was the director of the Near Eastside Senior Citizens Center.

Martha was an avid reader. She loved mysteries. She read the newspaper cover to cover daily until the day she died. She loved to travel. She traveled with the Circus at a food stand traveling all over the country. When she was 99 years old she even vacationed in Hawaii.

She was very politically active and was a champion for social justice. In the 2016 Indiana Primary, she voted in person at her polling center. In the late 1960’s she protested the Vietnam War in Washington D.C., and in 1987 she returned to Washington D.C. again as part of the AIDS quilt Project.

She is survived by her son; James (Gloria) Jackson, son-in-law; Don Boner, grandchildren: Andrea Jackson, Ben Anderson Jr., Debbie Anderson Dryer, Michael Anderson, Susan M. Lanier (Anderson Whitlock), George Anderson, Zirque Bonner, Freda Smith, and their spouses, all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband; Henry S. Jackson, son Ben Anderson Sr., daughter Suellen Jackson-Boner, brother William S. Schuhmacher and a sister, Esther F. Zotz.

She also leaves behind many friends whose lives she touched.