Remembering Emeritus Board Member Bill Jackson ’61
Pittsburgh Seminary mourns the passing of the Rev. Dr. William (Bill) Jackson ‘61, emeritus member of the Seminary’s Board of Directors, who died Jan. 14, 2026, at the age of 91. Bill served on the Board from 1975 to 1981, and he was named an emeritus member of the Board in 2004. As an emeritus director, Bill continued to partner with the Seminary’s Development Office, volunteering for the Seminary’s Connectathon events and other advancement initiatives.
A native of Grove City, Pa., Bill was a lifelong Presbyterian minister, pastoring a number of congregations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, including Abington (Pa.) Presbyterian Church, Christ United Presbyterian Church (Canton, Ohio), Westminster Presbyterian Church (Boardman, Ohio), and First Presbyterian Church (Flint, Mich.). He was also gifted in accompanying congregations through seasons of change as an interim minister, pastoring Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Sewickley (Pa.) Presbyterian Church, Highland Presbyterian Church of Lancaster (Pa.), Mars (Pa.) United Presbyterian Church, and others in this capacity. Bill further served as interim college chaplain at Westminster College (Pa.) and as the director of the Chautauqua Institution Department of Religion. In his later years, Bill sang in the Chautauqua Choir. He was a graduate of PTS and of Princeton Theological Seminary and was honored as one of Pittsburgh Seminary’s Distinguished Alumni in 2017.
“Bill’s story is one of lifelong faithfulness to Christian ministry,” says President Asa Lee. “In an age that values the trendy networker and the flashy influencer, Bill’s example demonstrates the life-giving relational ties that steady, attuned presence in a community makes possible. This type of ‘influence’—one of committed accompaniment—is something folks are crying out for more and more in our time. Forming leaders to serve communities in these deliberate but profound ways is one of the great joys of theological education; now more than ever, Bill’s life inspires our Seminary community to carry on this good work. May we grow in our ability to slow down, find Christ in one another, and, in doing so, sow seeds of love that—slowly but inexorably—shape our shared world into the likeness of the Kingdom of God.”