Celebration of life held for BSO Battalion Chief Terryson Jackson
FORT LAUDERDALE - Family, friends, hundreds of men and women from the Broward Sheriff's Office and Fire Rescue, and other law enforcement and fire rescue departments, gathered Friday to honor the life of Battalion Chief Terryson Jackson.
Jackson died last month when a sheriff's helicopter he was in crashed into an apartment complex in Pompano Beach. The crash also took the life of Lurean Wheaten, 65, who was inside an apartment in the building, and injured four people, including two BSO crew members, the pilot Daron Roche and Firefighter Paramedic Michael Chaguaseda.
The sheriff's office said the Fire Rescue helicopter had an engine fire and failure in a left engine and plummeted into the apartment building, about half a mile away from the Pompano Beach Air Park.
A Celebration of Life for Jackson is being held at the Faith Center in Sunrise.
At approximately 8:50 a.m., a fire truck carrying his flagged draped casket began the journey from the L.C. Poiter Funeral Home in Pompano Beach to The Faith Center. The procession briefly stopped at Deerfield Beach Station 22. It then continued to Sunrise where it passed under a flagged draped arch at The Faith Center made of two extended fire truck ladders.
Jackson was born in Dominica in 1973. He came to Florida in 1989.
Jackson started his career with Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue on March 22, 2004, and joined BSO as a Fire Rescue lieutenant during the merger on October 1, 2011. Chief Jackson joined the Air Rescue 85 team as a flight medic in 2013. On February 24, 2016, he was promoted to captain. Sheriff Gregory Tony posthumously promoted him to battalion chief.
BSO Sergeant Cleavone Brooks is Jackson's brother.
"Terry knew he was special but I don't think he knew he was this special to have all these people in here. All these different heroes from DOD, DLA, and of course, fire rescue. But it is not surprising, he was a hero, he did fly in the sky, he did save lives," Brooks told the gathering. "Terry loved what he did, he knew the risks and he did it anyhow, which makes him a true hero."
Dr. Sanjie Jackson, one of Jackson's four sisters, said he was a rock star.
"He has always been the best big brother. He was the epitome of bravery and he was a true hero in every sense of the word," she said.
"Let us honor his memory by carrying his kindness, his courage, and his unwavering spirit within us. Let us be reminded that his time with us was one of the greatest gifts that we could have ever received," she added.
Jackson's father, Pastor Oliver Jackson, said his son was a tremendous young man, family-oriented, and loved his work helping others.
"As a child Battalion Chief Jackson looked up to his parents. With backgrounds in healthcare and ministry, lives in service to the community, he knew he wanted to pursue a career helping others. The profession, as he so aptly stated himself, chose him," said BSO Fire Chief Timothy Keefe.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said Jackson's death was very personal for him. He said he's known Jackson for 14 years.
"This family is probably one of the most remarkable families that I have met. I have never seen a family that didn't have a shadow of doubt in a tragedy, about why. This family has displayed that. I know that confidence is knowing that he is with God," said an emotional Tony.
Jackson is survived by his mother, father, son, daughter, and siblings.