Bertha Idella (Jenifer) Jackson

Bertha Idella Jackson, daughter of the late Genesta Brown Jenifer and the late Marshall Jenifer, was born on July 24, 1925, in Port Deposit, Maryland. At the age of 97, she departed this life peacefully on Thursday, July 21, 2023, in North East, Maryland with family by her side.

Bertha was raised in “Cokesbury” (Port Deposit, Maryland) and received her formal education in the Cecil County Public School System. She attended the Cokesbury Colored School and the Elkton Colored High School (later named the George Washington Carver High School).

Bertha was employed by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs at Perry Point as a Nursing Aid where she received numerous service awards. Bertha later worked as a Security Guard for Job Corps before retiring at the Department of Aging for the State of Maryland. After retirement Bertha provided private home health care for her elderly clients.

Bertha was a long-time member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Bertha fellowshipped at Cokesbury First Baptist Church (Pastor Steven L. White) before attending Greater Grace of the Chesapeake Church (Pastor Bruce Wright). Bertha could often be heard proclaiming “We have to hold on to his hand!”

Bertha was a member of the Eastern Stars and VFW Post 6054 Women’s Auxiliary in Perryman, Maryland. Bertha was also a member of the Cecil County chapter of the NAACP for many years. Bertha enjoyed traveling in her motor home, league bowling at Harford Lanes in Aberdeen, Maryland, watching Major League Baseball, tending to her rental properties and crocheting.

In addition to her parents, Bertha was preceded in death by her brothers, Wilson “Bo” Jenifer, Robert Jenifer, Clyde Jenifer, Sr. and Sylvester Jenifer; sister, Alice Jones; husband, Maurice L. Jackson; niece, Cordelia Jenifer Adams; nephews, Clyde Jenifer, Jr., Jerome Jenifer, Ronnie Jones and Mark Jenifer; friend and cousin, Mary Humphries; and special friend, Carl S. Ridgeley.

Bertha leaves to cherish her memory daughter, Lisa A. Jones; granddaughters, Linisha G. Ramsey-Ayoola (Oba Olabunkunmi) and Lakisa N. Ramsey; great-granddaughters, Anaya Okafor and Gabrielle Parker; nieces, Joyce Cevis, Barbara Fleming, Madeline Warren, Jeanette Groce, Angela Jenifer, Dottie Benson, Jeresse Froggatt, Claudia Green, Sylvia Williams and Ellen Siler; nephews, Robert Jenifer, Michael Jenifer, Ernest Jenifer, Clifford Jenifer, Sylvester Jenifer, Melvin Jenifer and Pastor Granderson Jones, Jr.; as well as a host of many more loving family and friends.

A special thank you to Amedisys Hospice of Elkton for the wonderful care and support provided.

Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, July 28, 2023, 11 AM, at the Lee A. Patterson & Son Funeral Home, P.A., of Perryville, MD. Visitation for family and friends will be held Friday, July 28, 2023, 10 AM until 11 AM, at the funeral home prior to the funeral service. Pastor Bruce Wright of Greater Grace of the Chesapeake Church of Havre de Grace, MD, will officiate. Interment will be in Berkley Cemetery, Darlington, MD.

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