Helen Hardin Jackson

Helen Hardin Jackson grew up in New Mexico, received an excellent education, and after a brief first marriage, became a secretary to a senator in Washington, D.C. There, in 1961, she met and married Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson (1912-1983), a Democrat from Everett. Helen became known as a hard-working wife, mother, and co-campaigner with her husband through his re-election campaigns and two unsuccessful presidential bids. After her husband's unexpected death in 1983, she established the Henry M. Jackson Foundation as a living memorial to him. The foundation assists public officials, diplomats, and journalists in addressing international problems and funds scholarships, visiting faculty, and other programs at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. Helen also took on a variety of leadership and philanthropic projects in and around Everett and during the 1980s and 1990s often hosted fundraisers in her home. The Helen H. Jackson Endowed Chair in Human Rights at the Jackson School of International Studies was created in 2008 to recognize her personal commitment to human rights. Helen Jackson was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2003, and health conditions prevented her from being as active and public in the community as she had previously been. Helen Jackson continued to reside in Everett, where she was widely admired for her graciousness, generosity, and leadership abilities, until her death in 2018.