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| A Washington sports fan and lifelong singer dies after he was diagnosed with covid-19 | A Washington sports fan and lifelong singer dies after he was diagnosed with covid-19 |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| You could say the late Bill Jackman liked sports. He became a Washington Capitals season-ticket holder in 1974, the hockey team’s inaugural year. He had season tickets to the Washington Bullets, as the city’s basketball franchise was called back then. He was a Baltimore Orioles season-ticket holder during baseball’s long absence from the District, and after the Washington Nationals arrived, guess what: He bought season tickets. | You could say the late Bill Jackman liked sports. He became a Washington Capitals season-ticket holder in 1974, the hockey team’s inaugural year. He had season tickets to the Washington Bullets, as the city’s basketball franchise was called back then. He was a Baltimore Orioles season-ticket holder during baseball’s long absence from the District, and after the Washington Nationals arrived, guess what: He bought season tickets. |
| “Going to two games in one day was not unheard of,” his son Tom Jackman recalled. | “Going to two games in one day was not unheard of,” his son Tom Jackman recalled. |
| You could say he enjoyed music, too. He sang throughout his life, as a boy in a church choir in Massachusetts; as a student in the University of Notre Dame Glee Club; and as a tenor in the Oratorio Society of Washington, now the Washington Chorus, which performs at the Kennedy Center and other such lofty venues. Though he came of age with rock-and-roll in the 1950s, he preferred the jazz of Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan. | You could say he enjoyed music, too. He sang throughout his life, as a boy in a church choir in Massachusetts; as a student in the University of Notre Dame Glee Club; and as a tenor in the Oratorio Society of Washington, now the Washington Chorus, which performs at the Kennedy Center and other such lofty venues. Though he came of age with rock-and-roll in the 1950s, he preferred the jazz of Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan. |
| “He went to the Newport Jazz Festival many times,” said the younger Jackman, a reporter for The Washington Post, “not to mention far less savory jazz joints.” | “He went to the Newport Jazz Festival many times,” said the younger Jackman, a reporter for The Washington Post, “not to mention far less savory jazz joints.” |
| William E. “Bill” Jackman, 85, a retired press spokesman who loved to travel the world with his wife of 60 years, died this week in an assisted-living facility in Reston, Va., after testing positive for covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. As of Friday, the death toll from the weeks-old pandemic had surpassed 1,300 in Virginia, Maryland and the District. | |
| Tom Jackman said his father, who had Alzheimer’s disease and was in declining health generally in recent years, was tested for the illness last Friday at Great Falls Assisted Living. On Monday, the facility told his family that the test was positive. “But they said he seemed okay, that he’s just got a cough,” the son said. | Tom Jackman said his father, who had Alzheimer’s disease and was in declining health generally in recent years, was tested for the illness last Friday at Great Falls Assisted Living. On Monday, the facility told his family that the test was positive. “But they said he seemed okay, that he’s just got a cough,” the son said. |
| Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. | Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. |
| That night, “he died in his sleep.” | That night, “he died in his sleep.” |
| Bill Jackman lived in Reston, grew up in the village of Whitinsville, about 50 miles from Boston, and graduated from Notre Dame in 1956 with a degree in journalism. For a few years, he edited a small newspaper in California’s Mojave Desert, then entered the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va. Around that time, he met a young Virginia woman named Sigrid Stanley, who was studying at Mary Washington University in nearby Fredericksburg. | Bill Jackman lived in Reston, grew up in the village of Whitinsville, about 50 miles from Boston, and graduated from Notre Dame in 1956 with a degree in journalism. For a few years, he edited a small newspaper in California’s Mojave Desert, then entered the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va. Around that time, he met a young Virginia woman named Sigrid Stanley, who was studying at Mary Washington University in nearby Fredericksburg. |
| “It was a big deal that she married a Yankee,” Tom Jackman said of his mother. He said each family had trouble understanding the other’s accent. | “It was a big deal that she married a Yankee,” Tom Jackman said of his mother. He said each family had trouble understanding the other’s accent. |
| Over the years, the couple’s travels included trips to China, India, Kenya, Australia and Brazil. They had two sons and a daughter. | Over the years, the couple’s travels included trips to China, India, Kenya, Australia and Brazil. They had two sons and a daughter. |
| For about 23 years starting in the mid-1960s, Bill Jackman, who left the Marines as a captain, was a spokesman for the airline industry’s trade association, now called Airlines for America. Later, until he retired in the mid-2000s, he was national spokesman for AAA. | For about 23 years starting in the mid-1960s, Bill Jackman, who left the Marines as a captain, was a spokesman for the airline industry’s trade association, now called Airlines for America. Later, until he retired in the mid-2000s, he was national spokesman for AAA. |
| “If you know me or my brother, you knew him, because he passed his passions directly to us,” Tom Jackman said. | “If you know me or my brother, you knew him, because he passed his passions directly to us,” Tom Jackman said. |
| Sports, for instance: Besides being an avid spectator, Bill Jackman was the public address announcer — the stadium voice — of U.S. Navy Academy football for three decades. In the 1960s, he was also the basketball public address announcer and part-time sports information director at Georgetown University. “His first task every morning was to read the sports section of The Post,” his son said. | Sports, for instance: Besides being an avid spectator, Bill Jackman was the public address announcer — the stadium voice — of U.S. Navy Academy football for three decades. In the 1960s, he was also the basketball public address announcer and part-time sports information director at Georgetown University. “His first task every morning was to read the sports section of The Post,” his son said. |
| He also established “the Jackman family tradition of sprinting to the car right before the end of a game to beat the traffic,” Tom Jackman recalled. He remembered his father’s voice, yelling: “Come on, Tommy! It’s a school night!” | He also established “the Jackman family tradition of sprinting to the car right before the end of a game to beat the traffic,” Tom Jackman recalled. He remembered his father’s voice, yelling: “Come on, Tommy! It’s a school night!” |
| “I hated leaving even a minute early,” he said. “But chasing him in the Cap Centre parking lot is a custom I have now passed on to my own sons.” | “I hated leaving even a minute early,” he said. “But chasing him in the Cap Centre parking lot is a custom I have now passed on to my own sons.” |
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