101 Year-old Resident Leaves her Mark on Ocean Springs Community

After living more than 100 years in Ocean Springs, a long-time resident passes on, but not without leaving a legacy within her community.
Johanna Jackson, also known as Nana Jay, lived to be 101. Before she passed last November, a restaurant opened in her name. The owners of Nana Jay’s Soulful Kitchen on Washington Avenue were inspired by Nana Jay serving as her caretakers.
Nana Jay lived her entire life in Ocean Springs. The owners say the community became her family. A lot of her life she worked as a school teacher, volunteered at a local church and even worked for the mayor’s family at one point. Ocean Springs resident Karen Newkirk said, “We’re just going to continue to just remember her and I keep pictures and things up and just every time someone comes in and they’re new, we always talk about her and let them know that this is the reason for the name and things like that, just to keep her legacy going. We just miss her and love her so much. She’ll always, always be remembered here.”
The owners of the restaurant say Nana Jay had her hand in some of the recipes. She even helped pick some of the colors out when they opened seven months ago.