Geordie Jackson was a quiet man who ended life's journey in style

George 'Geordie' Jackson wanted to go out in style.

To celebrate his end of a life after a battle with cancer, the Guelph man had an unusual request in his will: a second line parade.

A second line parade is a West African tradition commonly put on in New Orleans. It is a celebration to honour a member of the community’s passing.

This alternative to a funeral procession brings together jazz music, dance, colourful attire, noisemakers, flags and cheerful people down a path to commemorate a pillar in the community.

Geordie was actually a quiet man, so this type of celebration was a juxtaposition of how he lived his life. 

“I guess this was his alter ego, but he didn't really show anyone,”  said Arni Mikelsons, a friend of Geordie’s for the last 20 years who helped organize the second line.

There was no rhyme or reason to why he wanted to celebrate his death New Orleans’ style. It was news to those who read the will. Although it has a connection to his trip to New Orleans with his brother Ian and sister Susan. He insisted they see a second line parade while they were there.

He wanted to bring the community together and make sure people had fun with it, a celebration of life, not a sombre occasion, said Mikelsons.

Jackson had battled pancreatic cancer and after coming out of remission he succumbed to it on Feb. 9, 2023. He was 63.

The parade began at Spring Mill Distillery with more than 100 people. An appropriate place to start because Geordie was a lover of fine whisky. 

Along with whisky he enjoyed canoeing and blues music. He was a foodie, a computer nerd, an environmentally conscious person, former president of the local Green Party, an IT person for the provincial government and a scout leader. He was a thinker, a contemplator.

He graduated from the University of Guelph in the early 1980s with a degree in environmental studies and computer science. Geordie came back to Guelph to buy a mutual friend of Mikelsons' house and lived the remainder of his life there.

Mikelsons was the parade master who led the parade on Sunday wearing a Scottish kilt in honour of Geordie’s heritage. The parade ended at Joseph Wolfond Park East close to where Geordie lived.

He and Mikelsons share a birthday close in dates. Jackson was born May 24, 1959 and Mikelsons’ is May 26 the same year.

“We shared our disinterest in birthdays,” he said. Although they celebrated their 50th and 60th birthdays together.

The two were neighbours and would often go to The Wooly Pub, have some beers and talk politics.

“He was a salt to the earth kind of guy,” said Mikelsons. “He had many deep relationships.”

People comment on how caring he was and how he was committed to doing good in the world, he said.

“Man, I’m going to miss him,” said Mikelsons.

Many people told Geordie's brother Ian Jackson how they want to go out the same way his brother did with one of these parades.

“The funny thing is that usually this kind of thing happens to the big star versus the captain of the football team or the mayor,” said Jackson. 

This was like championing a quiet person who was connected to many communities in Guelph, he said.

Geordie didn’t have children or a partner. His brother thought he didn’t live the best life in Guelph for some of those reasons. He came to find out after Geordie passed away, he lived a vibrant life in the city and had many friends.

In the last stages of his life Jackson, Jackson's wife and his sister took care of him.

“I was facing my own fears of looking after him,” he said. 

His brother was an independent person and was losing his ability to look after himself. There was a bit of turmoil and conflict over things like being helped to put on his jacket.

Jackson would have conversations about politics with him and had found out when Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner was asked to come over to the Liberals Geordie was one of the people Schreiner consulted, his brother said.

Schriener attended Geordie’s second line parade.

“To have a goal of chasing something beautiful. Everything goes awry. Chaos happens. It's doom and gloom and in the end it turns out perfect,” said Jackson about the story of his family’s life.