Karen Lucille Jackson

Karen Lucille Jackson (Bartow) passed away in her home on Monday, July 21, 2025, at the age of 80 years old. She was surrounded by her loving family. Karen was born on Sunday, April 22, 1945, at St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, the daughter of Douglas and Phyllis Bartow.

Karen graduated from Haslett High School in 1963. Karen met her husband, Wilbert Jackson, in the fall of 1963 while working at Uncle John’s Pancake House in Lansing, Michigan. The two started dating shortly after and were wed in the spring of 1967. Together they had a daughter, Andrea, and a son, Jason. While her children were away in school, Karen decided to set out on her own business ventures. Karen started her working life with professional licenses in cosmetology and real estate. Karen was an entrepreneur, purchasing her first business with her husband, a car wash located on Michigan Avenue in Lansing in 1979. In the following years, Karen and Wilbert opened two more car washes in Lansing. Karen and Wilbert then acquired the franchise rights in Eaton County for Mancino’s Restaurants in 1990. She then opened two more Mancino’s restaurants on Saginaw Highway, one in Lansing and the other in Grand Ledge. In addition to their children, Karen and Wilbert have two grandchildren. Karen spent her life raising her family and her retirement raising her grandchildren. The family often spent time boating off the shore of Lake Michigan in Grand Haven and later at her cottage on the shore of East Bay of Lake Michigan near the village of Elk Rapids. Karen was also well-traveled, enjoying family trips cruising the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Alaska. She also vacationed in Europe and Hawaii.

Karen is survived by her husband, of fifty-eight years, Wilbert Jackson and her two adult children, Andrea (Kevin) Kirby and Jason Jackson; two grandchildren, Miles Kirby and Skylar Kirby; brother Jim Bartow (Joy Summers); sisters, Susan Adams (David) and Anne Bartow; along with many nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Karen was preceded in death by her parents.