At 85 years old, William Smith Jackson III, known as Bill, passed away peacefully in Garberville on November 1, 2024. He was born February 26, 1939 in San Francisco with a love for adventure and curiosity about the world around him.

Bill joined the Navy when he was just 16 years old. His deployment sailed to Japan. With his first wife, Rosie, they had a son, Bill Jackson IV.

Still living in San Francisco, he met his second wife, Catherine. As if the wild sixties in San Francisco weren’t wild enough for them, in 1968 they moved together to Southern Humbold as part of the back to the land movement. With some friends from the University, they started the hippie commune in “Gopherville.”

This is where he became close acquaintances with the Redwoods Monastery. Soon after their son Knute was born, they left to New Zealand and worked for a year in senior care.

Back in California they had a second child, John.

Bill wrote regular articles for the Redwood Record, wrote a book and was active in the theater community.

After he sobered up from alcoholism, he was a very engaged member in the AA community.

Bill became a hypnotherapist and worked part-time in Sausalito in his private hypnosis practice.

Meditation became an important part of his sobriety and general wellbeing. This led him to meet his third wife Flurina Niggli in Germany in 2003 at a meditation retreat. She relocated to Redway in 2006 to live with Bill, and they had Julian together a year later.

Bill is survived by his four sons, Bill Jackson IV, Knute Jackson (wife Heather), John Jackson (wife Jessica) and Julian Jackson; grandchildren Billy V (wife Tracie), Owyn, Lucas, Aidan and Madelyn; and his great-grandson, Oliver.

The family is deeply grateful to the staff of the skilled nursing unit of SoHum Health for caring so lovingly for Bill in his last year.

There will be a celebration of Bill’s life February 22, 2025 at Beginnings in Briceland at 1 p.m.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bill Jackson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.