Theodora G. Jackson

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 2:44 PM EDT

Theodora G. Jackson, founder of Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults, Inc. (JSPOA), passed on Saturday, July 25 in Brewster, N.Y.

Jackson founded JSPOA as a program for the elderly in Jamaica in 1972. The program became a national model of service provision through the innovative concept of older adults as an integral part of the planning process. Her foremost characteristic was always asking the question “What does the older person say about this?” or “How does the older person say the service should be delivered and who do they think should deliver the service?” The inclusion of the older adult in what and how services were delivered to them was the hallmark of her innovative and creative approach.

Today, JSPOA provides services through a network of six senior centers, home-delivered meals, crime victim assistance, transportation, employment services, respite and a special center for the mentally frail, to name a few. The board of directors, staff and friends salute her innovative approach of bringing everyone in the community together to create what she called “a total community working together to serve its elderly.”

In 1997, the board of directors renamed the Archer Avenue Senior Center, located on 165th Street and Archer Avenue, the “Theodora G. Jackson Adult Center.”

Funeral services were held on Wednesday, July 30 at First Presbyterian Church in Katonah, NY.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMAICA SERVICE PROGRAMS FOR OLDER ADULTS
Theodora G. Jackson, founder of the Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults, Inc. (JSPOA), died on Saturday, July 25.