Cynthia L. (Brinkman) Jackson

Cynthia Lee (Brinkman) Jackson was born to William Brinkman & Suzanne (Koehler) Brinkman on September 20, 1952 in Franklin, Indiana, and she passed away April 19, 2011 in Alamogordo, New Mexico at the age of 58 years, 6 months, and 29 days. Memorials services for Cynthia will be held on May 10th 2011 at 3:00 p.m. at the Shickley United Methodist Church. Memorials are directed to the Alamogordo Community Cancer Center. Cynthia Lee (Brinkman) Jackson was born to William Brinkman & Suzanne (Koehler) Brinkman on September 20, 1952 in Franklin, Indiana, and she passed away April 19, 2011 in Alamogordo, New Mexico at the age of 58 years, 6 months, and 29 days. Memorials services for Cynthia will be held on May 10th 2011 at 3:00 p.m. at the Shickley United Methodist Church. Memorials are directed to the Alamogordo Community Cancer Center. On April 19th, 2011 Cindy was called home to her beloved Jesus Christ after losing a long battle to cancer. Over the course of three years the disease attacked her body but could not diminish her mind or her spirit or her courage or her dignity. She was born Cynthia Lee Brinkman on September 20th, 1952 in Franklin, Indiana. A short time later the family moved to Shickley, Nebraska where Cindy was raised as a farm girl until graduating from high school. While growing up as a little girl, she always loved being with others and cultivated many life long friendships in and around Shickley. She also was blessed with the ability to make new friends in a very short time. She was active in the Brownies, Girl Scouts and the church choir. While attending Shickley High she participated in the band and choir. She was a beautiful, energetic cheerleader for all sports and during her senior year was honored as Homecoming Queen. After high school she went to Denver, Colorado to attend Temple Buell College for two years. From there she was lured away to realize one of her life’s dreams. She became a Flight Attendant for Eastern Airlines. It was while flying for Eastern she met the love of her life, then Air Force Captain, Steve Jackson. It must have been love at first sight because Steve proposed and she happily accepted after only one week of dating. They remained married for another 37 years. During Steve’s Air Force career they had a grand life together by living in many different places, making many lifelong friends, building a dream home together and in 1982 being blessed with a wonderful son, Matthew, a gift from God. She continued to be very supportive of Steve’s career and was a great soccer/baseball Mom to Matt; never missing a game. After retiring from the Air Force in 1994, Steve and Cindy settled in Alamogordo, NM. Those of you who knew Cindy would agree that she was a very caring, selfless, and a kind person who gave so much back to the Alamogordo Community she loved. She worked as a volunteer at Holloman AFB serving as the Coordinator for Family Services and in 1994 was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for Holloman. She served on several boards at Grace United Methodist Church. She also was President of the Otero County Community Concert Association and served as a member of the Foundation Board for the Flickinger Center for the Performing Arts; helping to bring many concerts and shows to Alamogordo. But perhaps the organization that gave her the most satisfaction was serving her beloved sisterhood of PEO. She was president of PEO, Chapter AO, on four different occasions and also served in several other positions. Although giving a lot of herself to PEO she got so much love and friendship in return. Cindy loved walking in the nearby desert with her friends and rescue dog, Dixie. Cynthia Lee Jackson was a true gem as shown by the sparkle in her eye and will be sorely missed by everyone she touched. Cindy felt that her grandparents Karl C. and Maurine Brinkman and Ben G. and Virginia Koehler played a huge part in their grandchildren’s lives. They were always supportive and present at all “special” events. They lived 30 miles away in Geneva. Cindy was preceded in death by her grandparents. She is survived by her husband, Steve; son Matthew; her father William Brinkman and wife LaVere; her mother Suzanne (Koehler) Brinkman; her brothers Karl Brinkman and wife Marge and Bart Brinkman and wife Mary; her nieces Arielle and Anna Brinkman, Jessica Erstad and husband Darin; nephews Adam Brinkman and wife Kara, Andrew Brinkman, and Jeff Bettger and wife Natalie; aunts Betty (Brinkman) Karabatsos and Virginia (Koehler) Knoll and their families.

Tributes

Cynthia L. (Brinkman) Jackson

September 20, 1952 - April 19, 2011