Obituary
‘Mike’ Jackson, of Cordova, Alaska, passed away on July 4, 2026 in Alamos, Mexico. He was born on 2/16/1941 in Sacramento, California to Royle and veterinarian Thomas Walter Jackson.
He grew up a free spirited adventurer in Sacramento; pheasant hunting, fishing and swimming in the Sacramento River, hopping trains to travel up into the Sierra Mountains and camping at remote lakes. He attended McClatchy High but graduated from Sacramento High. In his late teens and early 20’s he was hired by “Doc” Sanders, a close family friend, to attend cattle and horses being shipped on several ocean voyages to both Hawaii and the Philippines, the experiences of which instilled his love of travel abroad.
He left a job with Game and Fish in California in 1970 to seek the Alaskan wilderness adventure. He travelled north with three friends; including one New York artist who also loved the wilderness and eventually became his wife. On that summer’s adventure, he found his career as a fisheries technician for Alaska Department of Fish and Game and his home in Cordova, Alaska.
Mike was passionate about the importance of working in the field, which he felt was vital to sound fishery management. Seasonally, he walked one hundred streams twice each summer in Prince William Sound counting returning salmon, and their fry and eggs in fall and spring. After retiring from the state, he developed his own business, Eyak Outlet, rebuilding impellers locally for the fishing fleet.
Mike was married to Joan Bugbee on the summer solstice 1973 in Cordova, Alaska. Their daughter, Brook Bond Jackson, was born in 1976. Together they built their own home and workshop on the shores of Eyak Lake. He was a loyal friend to all he knew and worked with both in Cordova and later in Alamos, Mexico where he and Joan made their seasonal home.
Those who knew Mike will remember him for his imagination, sense of adventure, love of a good story and unique characters and character names. He loved hunting, fishing, flying, each of his successive black Labrador retrievers, a morning hot tub with a cup of coffee overlooking Eyak Lake, a refreshing drink of fizzy water, and perfecting his smoked salmon.
Mike is survived by his spouse Joan Bugbee Jackson; daughter Brook and son-in-law Craig Pester, and his three grandchildren, Korbin, Owen and Claire Pester. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Pete Jackson.
Timeline
Gallery
Videos
Memory wall
Family tree
Celebration of Mike
1.5 mile Copper River Highway
Cordova, AK
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