Leanna Jackson

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Leanna Kaye Schilling Jackson, 72, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She passed away on Sunday, November 30, 2025 after a long illness.

Born in Springfield, Missouri, on August 8, 1953, Leanna was the eldest of three children and devoted daughter to the late Elroy and Joetta Schilling.

Leanna grew up on a farm in Lockwood, Missouri, where she attended Immanuel Lutheran Church as well as Immanuel Lutheran School through eighth grade. She attended Lockwood High School and graduated in 1971. 

Leanna earned her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1975 from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) with emphasis in Special Education.

Leanna had an interest in teaching from a very young age when she attempted to help her younger brother and sister learn to read. She formally began her teaching career in Greenfield, Missouri, in 1977 where she met her husband, Doug Jackson, who was also a teacher in the Greenfield Public Schools.

Leanna and Doug were married on June 3, 1978 in the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lockwood, Missouri.  They moved to Willard, Missouri, in 1981 at which time Leanna taught special education in the Ash Grove, Missouri, schools for one year then accepted a position with Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Missouri, where she taught special education at Pipkin Middle School, Hickory Hills Middle School and finally Central High School. Doug and Leanna later moved to Springfield in 1987. 

While in Springfield, Leanna was very active with Habitat for Humanity and Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, a program dedicated to enhancing the lives of adults and children with disabilities through sports. 

She earned her Master of Science degree in education and later her Specialist Degree during her time in Springfield.

Doug and Leanna moved to Platte City, Missouri, in 2003 after Doug accepted a job with the Federal Aviation Administration in Kansas City. Leanna continued to teach in Springfield, coming home on weekends during that 10-year period prior to her retirement.

Leanna retired from Springfield Public Schools in 2013 after 36 years of devoting her life to teaching special needs students. She then volunteered at Our Savior Christian Academy, associated with Our Savior Lutheran Church, in Platte City, Missouri.  Leanna has had a positive effect on many lives over the course of her life.

Doug and Leanna later moved to Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in 2017 so that they could be closer to and assist Leanna’s sister Lanette, who had suffered a stroke. She helped Lanette plan and host numerous get-togethers with her former colleagues at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Leanna is preceded in death by her father Elroy Schilling, mother Joetta Schilling and her sister Lanette Schilling. 

She is survived by her husband Doug Jackson of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; brother Erryl Schilling and his wife, Linda Schilling; nephew Brice Schilling and his wife, Britt Schilling; niece Lane Bucane and her husband, Aaron Bucane; and numerous great nieces and nephews, all of Lockwood, Missouri.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 4, 2025 at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lockwood, Missouri.  

Burial followed in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. 

The family received friends on Thursday from 10 a.m. until service time at the church. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Church. 

Online condolences may be shared at www.greenfieldfuneralchapel.com.  

Services were under the care of Greenfield Funeral Chapel.