Some heroes don’t wear capes. Instead, they wear aprons and have flour on their hands.<\/p>\n
That’s how Faith Power, executive director of The Laurel Center in Winchester, once described Clarke County resident Geneva Brown Jackson, a longtime benefactor to the nonprofit organization, which helps\u00a0victims of domestic and sexual violence.<\/p>\n
Surrounded by her family, Jackson died Friday at her home in Berryville. She was 92.<\/p>\n
Those who knew her have a hard time determining what she will be remembered for most\u00a0\u2014 her generosity or her cooking.<\/p>\n
Jackson was easily recognizable around town, driving a car with the license plate, “GJ BAKE2.” She owned a catering business and was well-known for her ham biscuits and baked goods.<\/p>\n
Whenever she went into the kitchen, she created culinary magic, said Berryville Town Manager Keith Dalton.<\/p>\n
He and Mayor Jay Arnold agreed that everything she made was delicious.<\/p>\n
But, oh, those biscuits. Dalton described them as “phenomenal.”<\/p>\n
“She always made them very thin, and they were flaky and tender,” recalled Jackson’s longtime friend, Sheryl Reid. She noted that the amount of biscuit and the amount of ham Jackson put inside one was roughly equal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If one was more than the other, it usually was the ham, Reid said.<\/p>\n
Jackson used only the best ingredients in the biscuits, including real butter, buttermilk and yeast, she recalled.<\/p>\n
The biscuits were so popular among people, Reid said, that whenever Jackson sold them at the Clarke County Farmers’ Market, they always sold out within an hour, regardless of how many she brought.<\/p>\n
Jackson also baked many pies and cakes and oversaw annual baking contests at the farmers’ market. Proceeds supported The Laurel Center, of which Jackson was once a board member and Reid is currently vice president.<\/p>\n
Although she was a certified food judge, Jackson never actually evaluated contest items, Reid pointed out. She said Jackson instead left the judging to others out of concern for potentially offending people, particularly ones she knew.<\/p>\n
Jackson began honing her culinary skills early in life. At 15, she was a cook for the prominent Williams family that once owned historic Clermont Farm in Berryville. She never received any formal training, Reid said.<\/p>\n
Throughout her life, Jackson amassed more than 500 ribbons at county fairs for her baking, canning and needlework talents.<\/p>\n
Along with The Laurel Center, Jackson raised money to benefit many other nonprofits including the Barns of Rose Hill and the Clarke County Education Foundation, which has established an endowed scholarship in her name.<\/p>\n
The foundation presented her its 2025 Dr. Richard M. Lewis Legacy Award.<\/p>\n
Jackson was the longest surviving original board member for FISH of Clarke County, having served 58 years. The organization helps community members in need.<\/p>\n
In 1994, the former Clarke Courier newspaper named her its “Citizen of the Year.”<\/p>\n
Among numerous other honors, Jackson was named the Masty Kerns Volunteer of the Year in 2000 for her volunteerism as a rape victim companion. Blue Ridge Hospice presented her a certificate of appreciation in 2022 for her support of the organization. A year later, she was honored by the Johnson-Williams Reunion Association for her many years of dedicated service to the community, her obituary shows.<\/p>\n
On its Facebook page, the Josephine School Community Museum & Clarke County African American Cultural Center pointed out “her tireless service to others.”<\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteering is like paying rent to live on this Earth,\u201d Jackson was once quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
“She gave, and she didn’t expect anything in return,” said Reid.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors presented Jackson a resolution of recognition and appreciation.<\/p>\n
“She was a tremendous person, a tremendous force in this community for as long as anyone can remember,” board Chairman David Weiss said earlier this week. He added that Jackson was “a kind and loving person who always put others before herself.”<\/p>\n
Dalton noted that she remained spry through her later years.<\/p>\n
“She lit up a room whenever she entered it,” he said.<\/p>\n
Jackson was “a good public servant,” said Arnold.<\/p>\n
“She’s done so much for so many people,” Reid said. “She lived her Christianity every day.”<\/p>\n
Jackson was a member of Zion Baptist Church.<\/p>\n
And, “she’s my hero,” Reid continued, mentioning what Power said about Jackson.<\/p>\n
Friends will be received by the Jackson family from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at Enders & Shirley Funeral Home Chapel in Berryville.<\/p>\n
Jackson’s funeral will follow, with the Rev. James Scott eulogizing and the Rev. Karlyle Hill officiating. Her burial will be private.<\/p>\n
“She’ll be greatly missed,” Dalton said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some heroes don’t wear capes. Instead, they wear aprons and have flour on their hands. That’s how Faith…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2997,2998,2996,65,1202,2995],"class_list":{"0":"post-3118","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-clarke","9":"tag-clarke_county","10":"tag-eedition","11":"tag-geneva","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-winchester_star"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}