CLAUDIU IONESCU
Founder & Director, MASONIC FORUM Magazine
THOMAS JACKSON has passed on to the Eternal Orient at the end of December 2021.
May God rest his soul!
I last spoke to Tom right before Christmas. He was in the hospital and was breathing heavily. He had Covid and other comorbidities. He told me he had no regrets, that he had lived life to the fullest, and then he thanked me for my friendship and for publishing his books in Romania. I felt a lump in my throat and I barely managed to say a few words thanking him. I am deeply honored that he chose me as his Romanian publisher.
Thomas W. Jackson was an EXCEPTIONAL human being and Freemason.
The MASONIC FORUM Magazine, where he was Honorary Director, owes an immense debt to him for his endorsement abroad. I have interviewed members from the World Masonry’s elite and the most important Masonic researchers have published their papers in the Masonic Forum.
Romanian Freemasonry owes a huge debt to him. Tom supported Romania first of all because of his appreciation for Eugen Ovidiu Chirovici, the Grand Master of the National Grand Lodge of Romania between 2003 and 2010.
Many Grand Lodges around the world owe a huge debt to him. More than once have I witnessed talks where Masonic officials from various jurisdictions were asking Thomas Jackson for advice or support in order to solve various internal or international issues.
I dare say that Thomas Jackson was an important balancing factor of World Freemasonry. His passing to the Eternal Orient is a great loss for the Craft. His legacy will be taken forward by his closest collaborators. The Masonic Forum magazine will keep his memory alive and will continue to promote the human and masonic values that Tom believed in and fought for.
Right Worshipful Brother Thomas W. Jackson, born September 14th, 1934, was initiated in the Cumberland Valley Lodge No. 315 in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and served as its Worshipful Master in 1969. He then served for two decades as Grand Secretary of the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Pennsylvania, stepping down in 1999.
Tom was the first Executive Secretary of the World Conference of Regular Grand Lodges from 1998 to 2014, and then he became and Honorary President ad vitam of this organization.
Tom Jackson was an ardent supporter of Masonic research and education, serving as Empowered Master of the Pennsylvania Lodge of Research, as a member of the Philalethes Society and as a member of the exclusivist Society of Blue Friars.
He also held leadership positions in many organizations of the Craft, including the Conference of Grand Secretaries in North America, the Masonic Restoration Foundation and the Association of Masonic Arts.
Tom Jackson was an honorary member of 39 Grand Lodges all around the world, with a High Rank of Honor in 20 and as an Honorary Grand Master in 12 jurisdictions.
