A graveside service for Mrs. Mildred Phillips Jackson, 87, of Columbia, SC, was held at 11 a.m., Friday morning, at Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens, officiated by The Rev. Ron Bower, pastor of the First Church of God, Sumter, SC.

Mrs. Jackson died Tuesday, April 20, 2010, after 10 years of care by Life Care Center of Columbia, SC, following a tragic car accident in 1999.

She was born in Damascus, on February 13, 1923, a daughter of the late Aubrey and Ruby Elizabeth Sheffield Phillips. Mildred learned to play the piano early in life and continued to be involved in church music until the time of her accident. She served her Lord and his church at various times as pianist, organist, choir director, and soloist. She will be remembered by many for her hard work and dedication to music and worship. While Mildred’s first calling was to work in the music of the First Church of God, Covenant Rd, where she was a member, she also worked a full career with Civil Service, Social Security, and finally in South Carolina Children’s Services.

Survivors include her son, William A. Jackson III of Stone Mountain; her daughter, Elizabeth Anne Jackson (Cohen) of Columbia, SC; and her younger brother, Percy Phillips of Colquitt. She is also survived by six grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren. Mildred was preceded in death by her husband, the Rev. William Andrew Jackson, Jr., and two brothers, James and Raymond Phillips, also of Colquitt.

Shives Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangement.