We are writing with sadness to share that Phyllis Jackson, our beloved spouse, mother, and grandmother passed away on Saturday morning, June 26, after a long struggle with cancer, and multiple life-long illnesses. We are sitting shiva together, a Jewish practice of mourning, on July 5th from 4-8 pm, in Liz Jackson's backyard at 1709 Francisco St, Berkeley. Our family hopes that you may be able join us. It will be open house style (come through anytime), with a service at 6:00 PM with Rabbi Dev Noily from Kehilla Community Synagogue. Instead of flowers, please consider donating in Phyllis' honor to the National Network of Abortion Funds. This could be a large gathering so we hope you will consider keeping unvaccinated kids at home (and adults if that applies to anyone) and stay masked. About Phyllis... Phyllis was a mother to two daughters Sarah and Liz, a wife of 50 years to David, and a grandmother to Leo, Rosie, Salma, and Felix. Some of her joys were babbling to babies and talking to young children, fashion boutiques, and speed-reading fiction. She was fancy but vulgar. She loved Sharon Olds and Joyce Carol Oats. She had the gift of receiving the painful stories of grocery store cashiers and other strangers. Often strangers in public spaces, sensing her overflowing empathy, would just start telling her their story of trauma and disappointment. She too struggled with chronic illnesses and could not always enjoy life the way we wished for her. She was a first-grade teacher, a clinical social worker with a magical intuition and ability to connect to, respect, and honor the pain of others, and a feminist. She was notorious for calling out hypocrisy, fake concern, institutional negligence, and any lack of care. She seeded in us, her daughters, deep identification with the underdog, and our insistence on justice. With gratitude, David, Sarah, Liz Jackson david.ethan.jackson@gmail.com sarahjackson8@gmail.com lizjackson@gmail.com