CEDAR FALLS - "Mr. Jackson, did you know …"

Jim and Joan Jackson have received more e-mails in the last month than they can count. Many start with the line above. They read each one, reliving the memories and appreciating the kind words and prayers offered.

"There are some powerful statements," said James Jackson, son of the former Hansen Elementary School principal and community activist. "He's received e-mails from students he had 40 or 50 years ago. It's like something right out of central casting."

Jim Jackson was the first principal at Hansen Elementary when the school opened in 1969, but he had taught in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls district in the years prior to that. His compassion then for his students and colleagues is now coming back to comfort him as he battles an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Though the cancer is generally treatable, doctors have been unable to knock it out with traditional chemotherapy and a more powerful chemotherapy drug damaged Jim Jackson's heart muscles and forced him to quit the treatment. He is now receiving palliative care, James said.

Joan also is battling stage 4 lung cancer, which metastasized to her brain. She is undergoing her final round of chemotherapy.

While some students likely don't remember their elementary principal, Mary Sue Ellinger said many Hansen graduates still think fondly of Mr. Jackson.

"The kids who knew Mr. Jackson had a special connection with him," Ellinger said, her voice cracking. "He just had a lot of fun with them."

Most everyone that knows Jim Jackson remembers his love of patterned ties and his penchant for rewarding those who complimented him with a penny from his pocket.

"He was always looking for a way to connect with the kids," Ellinger said.

James Jackson said his father had a special talent for connecting with just about everyone. In the '60s he was an activist in the war on poverty and heavily involved in the Black Hawk County Community Action Committee, which gave a voice to the downtrodden. His passion for the underdog continued into the schools, where he would often work extra hours and spend his own money finding food for the hungry, a dentist for the poor and being an advocate for those with special educational needs.

Outside the schoolhouse he had a special passion for "his kind of people," the ones who "enjoyed pontificating about an antique apple peeler" with him at his family-owned auction house, James said.

Susan Sherwood, a Wartburg professor who taught at Hansen, said the former principal inspired her and many others he met.

"Jim is a true leader. He values each of us as an individual, challenges us to dream, empowers us to believe in ourselves and celebrates who we are and our accomplishments," Sherwood said. "He is a role model, a mentor and a true friend."

Friends, former colleagues and students and family can e-mail the Jacksons at jlj@mchsi.com.