Robert "Bob" Ellis Jackson, 84, of Springfield, Missouri, died suddenly and unexpectedly on January 1, 2022.  Bob was born on November 20, 1937, in Brownfield, Missouri.

In early 1960, Bob met Martha Ann Atkisson on a misadventure of a blind date arranged by each of their best friends.  After a whirlwind courtship, Bob and Martha were married on July 15, 1960 and settled down in Bob's hometown of Richland, Missouri, where sons were born in November 1961 and October 1964.

In 1968, Bob moved his young family to Springfield, where he had a 38-year career driving a truck for Beaufort Transfer Company.  While Bob would have said he was just a humble truck driver, he was so much more to the countless people he worked with and met up and down the highways where he seemed to know everyone and everywhere.

After retiring from Beaufort Transfer in 1998, Bob managed to turn a hobby of mowing lawns into a full-time job for the next 20 years.  His family always believed his mowing business was just an excuse to buy more John Deer trackers.  Bob took enormous pride in the quality of the work he did for each of his lawn customers, usually spending way more time than was profitable to make sure each lawn looked immaculate no matter the size of or the look of the home.

Bob was a man of abiding faith who deeply and unequivocally loved his family and his wife of over 61 years and left the indelible imprint of his character on his sons.  He also stubbornly clung to the belief that he knew the shortest way of getting from every location to another in Springfield, even if others and a stopwatch seldom agreed.

In addition to his wife Martha, Bob is survived by his two sons, Kenneth Jackson and his wife Brenda of Springfield, Missouri, Gerald Jackson and his wife Betsy of Tulsa, Oklahoma; three grandchildren, Darren Leader and wife Courtney, Cassie Reed and husband Blake, and Taylor Custis; and eight great grandchildren, Gabe, Nathan and Mollie Jo Reed, Braydin, Braxtyn and Cyrina Leader, and Kolton and Averie Custis.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Merle and Daisy Jackson.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 6, 2022 from 6-8 PM at the Klingner-Cope Family Funeral Home at Rivermonte, 4500 S. Lone Pine Ave., Springfield, MO 65804 with funeral services to follow at 11 AM on Friday, January 7, 2022.