- November 23, 2024
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“I have made some of the meanest people laugh,” Henry Jackson says.
The 84-year-old Palm Coast resident says that while he was a police officer in Miami, he met Al Capone and Scarface and practiced his good humor on them.
On Saturday, Aug. 29, he hopes to make children laugh, as he plans to give away 70 backpacks — supplied by his son's foundation. Sitting in his wheelchair, Jackson will be in his driveway from 10 a.m. to about noon, at 237 Boulder Rock Drive. First come, first served, he said.
“When I get tired, I’ll stop and give away the rest later,” he said.
Jackson, who was a lieutenant for the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for 13 years before he retired, spent a total of 33 years in uniform. He also was a private investigator.
“Oh, man, I could write a book about how law enforcement changed,” he said. When a suspect would try to run away, he said, the officers were trained to throw their billy clubs to trip the suspect. And to get a call to a scene, the officer would be notified on a beeper, and he would have to find a pay phone to receive the rest of the message.
He retired in Daytona Beach in 1987. When his wife of 53 years died in 2009, he decided he needed a change, so he moved to Palm Coast. He said it’s much quieter here. “I don’t hear no sirens,” he said.
Jackson became paralyzed about a year ago, due to ALS, and Sheriff Mike Chitwood visited him to encourage him.
In the meantime, Jackson is trying to help people whenever he can. He serves in several ministries at Mount Calvary Baptist Church and now is involved in giving away backpacks. He got his supply from his son, Mike Jackson, who founded Women of Virtue Foundation in Daytona Beach and recently gave away 700 backpacks there.
Mike Jackson was diagnosed in 2011 with pancreatic cancer and believes he was miraculously cured. Ever since then, he has given away bicycles, Thanksgiving meals and backpacks to the community. He was happy when his father asked to help give away backpacks.
“It meant a lot to me — everything my dad has been through — to see that he’s not giving up," Mike Jackson said. "When I go see him, I see a guy that’s laughing and smiling and enjoying life. It’s a beautiful thing.”
He added, “My dad has always been my Superman.”
