April 28, 2010

DWU commencement set May 1

David R. Jackson

MITCHELL — Dakota Wesleyan University will celebrate commencement this weekend with a baccalaureate service and graduation, with an honorary degree bestowed upon distinguished alumnus.

Baccalaureate will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at the Sherman Center on campus and Commencement is set for 2 p.m. at the Corn Palace with 195 graduates.

Among those receiving degrees Saturday, David R. Jackson, class of 1971, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree.

Jackson, a native of Sacramento, Calif., graduated from DWU in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

While at Dakota Wesleyan, he believes he came to fully realize the joy of service to others. He was active in Circle K, a student leadership and service organization affiliated with the Kiwanis Club. He led many projects, including the Salvation Army fund drive, hosting Christmas parties for the Abbott House children, and assisting needy people in Mitchell with fall housecleaning and much needed winter maintenance. The summer after his graduation he raised more than $10,000 for the music department. He attributes much of his college and professional success to then-faculty members Milton Kudlacek and Matt Campbell.

He continued his education and received a professional degree from the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science. After attaining his national board certification in Los Angeles, Jackson returned to South Dakota to begin his career in Rapid City. In 1977, he became the principal of Heubner & Company in Denison, Iowa, operating funeral homes in Denison, Schleswig and Charter Oak, Iowa.

In 1985, he sold his practice and returned to his home state of California, settling in the Napa Valley. In the fall of 1986 he purchased La Residence, a small country inn. Famous for its meticulously landscaped grounds, the inn has appeared in a vast number of publications, including Travel and Leisure, Wine Spectator, The New York Times and the London Times. La Residence has been featured by American Express, as well as in other national corporate campaigns. Jackson sold this business in 2006, but continues to operate other business and real estate interests.

Much of his life has been devoted to humanitarian works. For 30 years he has shared with many students, giving them tuition, food, tickets, books, cars and computers, and continuing to pay employees’ salaries or paying their rent during the first year of education.

He was awarded inclusion into Outstanding Young Men of America in 1973 and later, Personalities of the West and Midwest. In 1983, he joined the National Executive Committee of the Dakota Wesleyan University Agenda for Excellence campaign, representing key constituencies of the college and endorsing Dakota Wesleyan. From 1984 to 1988 Jackson served on the Dakota Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. In 2005, he was awarded DWU’s Outstanding Citizen Award.

Jackson currently resides in Napa Valley. He has two adult children.