Family and friends will come together to remember the life and love of Ruth Jackson—mother of country icon Alan Jackson—during funeral and visitation services on Thursday (Jan. 12). Mama Ruth, as she was affectionately known, died peacefully at her home in Newnan, Ga., on Jan. 7 at the age of 86.
Mama Ruth’s funeral will be at 2 p.m. at the Newnan Central Baptist Church. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the church fellowship hall.
“One thing about my mom is that she still lives in the same place in Newnan, Ga.,” Alan told Country Weekly magazine in 2005. “She was about 16 when she got married. Dad got back home from the Navy and took her out of high school. They had a place near my grandfather’s and that’s where they lived. That’s all she’s ever known. She never wanted to be in a nursing home. She is sort of feeble now and she does have care in the home, but she never wanted to leave and we hope that she can stay there. I basically wrote the song ‘Home’ about her.”
Below you can watch Alan sing “Home,” including the heartfelt lyrics My mama raised five children / Four girls, and there was me / She found her strength in faith of God / And a love of family / She never had a social life / Home was all she knew / Except the time she took a job / To pay a bill or two.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_s2f3U8SYs
photo by courtesy of Alan Jackson
