Business entrepreneur. Mr. Jackson was the legendary founder of the popular adventure-based sporting goods store that bears his name in Pinellas Park, Florida, "Bill Jackson's Shop for Adventure" which is one of the largest and most well-known outdoor specialty shops in the country. Mr. Jackson was also credited with being one of the pioneers of Florida's scuba diving scene. He was teaching long before there was such a thing as scuba certification. Bill was also one of the first in the state to spearfish. He founded his first store as Bill Jackson Army Surplus in an old ramshackle building in Saint Petersburg in 1951. He was a true business man and he needed a larger store and in 1976, moved to its current building tucked away in Pinellas Park. It came to be known as "Bill Jackson's Shop for Adventure." Life was meant to be challenging, surprising, and fun but most importantly, an adventure as Mr. Jackson saw it. Mr. Jackson was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base before spending two years in England with the Eighth Air Force. In 1946, he returned to Tampa where he hoped to open a construction business, but found himself buying and selling surplus. He began accumulating goods by attending an army surplus auction on base and loved to tell the story that he came home with 500 pounds of rat poison and a ton of bleach. He was the first president of the invitation-only St. Pete Underwater Club - now known as a club for hardcore blue-water hunters. He introduced scuba diving to Florida's west coast and oversaw one of the oldest scuba shops in the country. Mr. Jackson is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, and two devoted sons and two precious grandchildren. He is also survived by numerous friends and customers he met over the past 98 plus years of his life!
Business entrepreneur. Mr. Jackson was the legendary founder of the popular adventure-based sporting goods store that bears his name in Pinellas Park, Florida, "Bill Jackson's Shop for Adventure" which is one of the largest and most well-known outdoor specialty shops in the country. Mr. Jackson was also credited with being one of the pioneers of Florida's scuba diving scene. He was teaching long before there was such a thing as scuba certification. Bill was also one of the first in the state to spearfish. He founded his first store as Bill Jackson Army Surplus in an old ramshackle building in Saint Petersburg in 1951. He was a true business man and he needed a larger store and in 1976, moved to its current building tucked away in Pinellas Park. It came to be known as "Bill Jackson's Shop for Adventure." Life was meant to be challenging, surprising, and fun but most importantly, an adventure as Mr. Jackson saw it. Mr. Jackson was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base before spending two years in England with the Eighth Air Force. In 1946, he returned to Tampa where he hoped to open a construction business, but found himself buying and selling surplus. He began accumulating goods by attending an army surplus auction on base and loved to tell the story that he came home with 500 pounds of rat poison and a ton of bleach. He was the first president of the invitation-only St. Pete Underwater Club - now known as a club for hardcore blue-water hunters. He introduced scuba diving to Florida's west coast and oversaw one of the oldest scuba shops in the country. Mr. Jackson is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, and two devoted sons and two precious grandchildren. He is also survived by numerous friends and customers he met over the past 98 plus years of his life!
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