Brandie Jo Jackson

Brandie Jackson was born in Little Rock, Ark., November 19, 1977. Her parents were Nina Simmons Hadley and Rusty Newman, and Rusty's parents were Hilda and Carl Newman all from Bee Branch, Ark. Nina's parents were James W. Simmons of Clinton, Ark., and Jorene Simmons from Parkdale, Ark. Brandie's parents and grandparents are deceased. Brandie lived in Little Rock where she attended elementary school and eventually, she moved in with her father's parents, Hilda and Carl Newman in Bee Branch, Ark. There she attended grade school and high school. Brandie was athletic, playing basketball and running track for her school. Being very energetic and fast, she ran hurdles and many different distances at track. She also sang for her high school choir and the choir, at one point, traveled to Houston, Texas, and performed at the tribute for the victims of the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle Mission. During Brandie's last years of school, she began working for the (AHTD) Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. Her husband James "Tyndall" Jackson said he found it remarkable that A‘HTD' were his grandfather's initials. H. Tyndall Dickinson was in the road construction business (McGeorge Contracting Company) that built many roads around Arkansas. Brandie worked since she was a young girl in heavy construction for this and other companies. She started out running the cones for road jobs and graduated to being a heavy equipment operator. She drove dozers, scrapers, track hoes backhoes trenchers and huge yukes (yellow dump trucks). She did this work and was eventually married to her 1st husband Kevin Buckalew. After a brief marriage she was then married to James Keith Robinson and they had a child, Ranger Beret Robinson who is 19 years old. They lived in Damascus on the Robinson Farm for their brief married life. Tyndall Jackson, a musician, and Brandie met in Little Rock and quickly fell in love, married, and found a house on the AR River in Maumelle where they lived for about 7 years. While there they had their son James Tyndall Jackson II, April 9, 2008. They raised Tyndall in Maumelle where his brother Ranger would often visit. Their place in Maumelle was on a large piece of property where the kids could really run and play without their parents having to worry about traffic. They also had a nice pond and they all, especially Brandie loved to fish. It was like a paradise for their family. Tyndall built a recording studio where he would make records and rehearse for his musical projects. In 2012, their family moved to the Marche Community in North Little Rock, and some of Brandie's cousins lived close by too. They were able to relocate the recording studio there as well for Tyndall. They were happy there, and their son now is in the 6th grade in private school. Brandie is survived by her aunts, Linda Smart, Jaimie Simmons, and Jaimie's daughter, Tiffany Bramlett, and Brittany and Jimmy Story and their daughter Bronwyn. Additionally, she is survived by her uncle, James, and his sons, Marcus, James Willy, and Mikey; and her uncle, Johnny Simmons. Al Langford was a close family friend of Brandie's and her mom's. Brandie was also loved and is survived by her mother-in-law, Nan Ellen D. East and stepfather-in-law, Jack M. East, and father-in-law James E. Jackson (Sue), and her step-grandmother, Josephine Jackson; and uncles, Haskell L. Dickinson II (Peggy) and Remmel Dickinson; cousins, Thomas Dickinson (Anna), Eleanor Dickinson, Haskell Dickinson III; and many other cousins, nieces and nephews. Brandie loved music, fishing, kayaking, camping and she was really starting to enjoy hiking and biking. She loved to cook and work in the garden and the yard. Her zero-radius-turn Lawnmower allowed her to clear her own property and to professionally mow for others. This year, Brandie and Tyndall and their sons had great times riding electric bikes as a family and they went on some wonderful trips. They loved watching movies together and going to concerts. Brandie would also come to see Tyndall play at clubs and festivals. Brandie and Tyndall enjoyed many visits to beaches, and they took Tyndall II to Disney World, Legoland, etc. the beach and many more fun places in Mexico and the Caribbean. At the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, Brandie got to go deep-sea fishing and landed a big barracuda. She never forgot it when the fish gave her a little bite in the leg, and bit the guide. Tyndall said Brandie was about the prettiest girl he had ever seen, and they had an amazing time together. She also loved animals, and leaves eight animals including several strays, the most recent new kitten she brought home the night she died. Brandie was loved by so many. She had a magnetic personality and a passion for art. Always helping less fortunate people, feeding them, or giving them clothes, and she spent a lot of time giving back to the Wolfe Street Organization for people with addiction problems. Wolfe street helped Brandie and she loved Wolfe Street. She volunteered in every way she could and hoped she helped the staff and friends there as much as they helped her. Nobody loved her more than her sons and Tyndall. She enjoyed being with her family at holiday reunions every year and other festivities. This year the coronavirus redirected Brandie and Tyndall's lives and they were able to spend a lot more time at home than usual. It was a real gift that the family was able to see each other so much this year, like a fairy tale. Brandie will be sorely missed by her loving husband and children, other family members and friends, gone too soon, and deeply loved. Saturday, October 17, 2020, a socially distanced visitation will be held for Brandie from 10-11 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. funeral service afterwards, both held outside behind Ruebel Funeral Home, 6313 W. Markham Street in Little Rock, Ark. Following the service guests are invited to meet, socially distanced, at Murray Park, by the boat launch to say a final farewell to Brandie. Should you wish, memorials can be made to the Wolfe Street Foundation, 1015 Louisiana St., Little Rock, Ark., 72202 or to a charity of your choice. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, (501) 666-0123, 6313 W. Markham Street in Little Rock, Ark. 72205