Poor D just tried to call his old friend, only to discover he had died
JACKSON, Brent R. Of Dorchester, died unexpectedly on December 20, 2009 at the age of 67, of pancreatic cancer. The son of the late Harry & Helen Jackson of Framingham, he is survived by his sister Sue Jackson of Woodbury, MN; aunts Meg Fillmore and Vi Ross of Hudson, Betty Greeley of Peabody, and Evelyn Greeley of Chapel Hill, NC; and uncle Tom Coolidge of Dunnellon, FL. Brent worked at the Boston Museum of Science for 37 years until 2004. He proposed and then built their Courses & Travel programs, which grew to hundreds of courses and science-based travel tours. Brent got his Bachelor's degree in Biology from Tufts in 1964 and a Master's degree in Zoology from UNH in 1968. Before joining the Museum he taught biology at the Newton North High School. He continued to lecture on teaching science to all ages of students at Suffolk and Boston Universities, and was named Science Educator of the Year in 1985 by the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers. He worked with the Massachusetts State Science Fair as an organizer, fundraiser, and chairman. Until his death, he was a board member of the New England Museum Association and an active supporter of the Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA camp in Becket, Massachusetts. A veteran world traveller, Brent explored 205 cities in 28 countries across 6 continents, and 42 American states. In recent years, he was a guide for New England tour companies and a school evaluator for the Commonwealth. Information about a spring-time celebration of his life will be posted on his Facebook page. Donations can be made in his memory to the Becket-Chimney Corners YMCA, 748 Hamilton Road, Becket, MA 01223.
