Family mourns doctor killed in kayaking accident: ‘It’s just hard to believe it’s real’

POLK COUNTY Ore. (KPTV/Gray News) - A family in Oregon is mourning after their son was killed in a kayaking accident earlier this week.

The Jackson family said they are still working to process the sudden loss of 50-year-old Jacob Jackson after he went kayaking at Willamette River in Polk County Thursday night but never returned.

Family members said he was adventurous, generous, and a kind person to everyone he encountered.

His family said those characteristics came easy to him as a family medicine doctor.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports that Jackson was on the Willamette River when his kayak collided with a Buena Vista Ferry after he had a malfunction with his steering mechanism.

Jackson’s mother, Melodie Jackson, said he was with a friend, and they were using a type of kayak unfamiliar to her son.

“The kayaks were not the ones where you sit up and have a paddle, they had pedals of some kind, and the kayak he was given malfunctioned,” Melodie Jackson said. “Of course, it was unusual to him first of all, and when they launched into the water, he was trying to sort out how it worked and then they saw the ferry which was launched at the same time. It was poor timing. They tried to get away, but they couldn’t.”

The responding dive team said Jacob Jackson fell into the water after being pulled into the current and striking the ferry. His clothes got caught in the propeller, leaving him trapped under the water.

His sister, Katrinka Blunt, said her brother enjoyed water sports regularly, knowing the proper safety precautions.

“I understand from the police report that he did have his life vest with him but wasn’t wearing it at the time. I’ve also understood that if you get caught in that propeller a life vest probably wouldn’t have saved you anyway,” Blunt said. “These things can happen to anyone. It’s easy to find blame, but in the end, it doesn’t change the outcome at all and we’re just going to miss him.”

The family is working to find comfort where they can, though they are still in a state of shock, thinking their son will walk into the room at any moment.

“It’s not something I expected. So, it’s just hard to believe it’s real,” Melodie Jackson said.

Blunt added, “It just still feels like he’s on a trip and we’ll see him again.”

His family said he was a warm and kind man who was the “fun uncle” to his 20 nieces and nephews.

“I think everyone should have an uncle like him. He was just making jokes as he came in and was always interested in what each of them were doing,” Blunt said.

Melodie Jackson said her son was not one for the spotlight, but rather a supportive pillar in their family.

“In fact, he never led with ‘I’m a doctor.’ He just wanted to be a regular guy,” she said.

The “regular guy” worked at Keizer Permanente in Salem for many years before deciding he wanted to travel more and served as a doctor wherever he was needed.

“Like all of us, I think some of the plans that he had for himself didn’t go exactly as he saw. But he embraced what he had. And I will remember him for that,” Blunt said.

The family also wants their son and brother to be remembered for his desire to bring people together and for his love of being on the water.

A memorial service is being planned and is expected to happen within the next week.

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