My friend Janet Jackson, who has died aged 79, spent more than a decade as lead chaplain at St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle upon Tyne, and later set up a bereavement service for the Tynedale Hospice at Home in Hexham, Northumberland.
Her work supporting the bereaved touched thousands of people in the north-east of England and she was a pillar of support for many during the most difficult periods of their lives.
Janet was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, as one of the seven children of Arthur Clarke and his wife, Ella (nee Straw), who were both bakers. She attended Bolling girls’ grammar school in Bradford and met her future husband, Michael Jackson, on a trolley bus when they were young teenagers.
Marrying in 1966, they lived in London and Hong Kong for a while before returning to the UK, where Janet worked as an office administrator while raising their family and Michael was a civil engineer until becoming a Church of England priest in 1984.
After gaining a social work qualification in her 30s from Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University), Janet became a social worker for Durham county council until she felt called to the Church of England ministry herself.
Following an ordination course in Durham she held a brief curacy at Westerhope, Newcastle upon Tyne, before becoming lead chaplain at St Oswald’s, spending 14 years in that role and finding her true vocation working with people facing life crises. In addition she provided training to others, from medical students to clergy, on how to offer spiritual care for the dying.
In 2007 Janet retired from St Oswald’s to Hexham, where she set up the bereavement service at Tynedale Hospice at Home and also founded Rainbows, a group providing care for children whose siblings have died, as well as Forever Parents, a lifeline for parents coping with grief.
She conducted services alongside Michael at Hexham Abbey and worked on a part-time basis with the groups she had founded. Her services to those who have been bereaved were recognised in 2019 with a British Empire Medal.
She is survived by Michael, their children, Becky, Mike, Emma and Di, and grandchildren Jo, Ellis, Yasmin, Lily, Lal, Lola and Joanie.
