Though Rev. Jesse Jackson was widely recognized as a civil rights icon, first and foremost he was a father who “took fatherhood very seriously” and loved his family.His children shared emotional tributes Wednesday morning during a news conference outside the reverend’s South Shore home, reflec ting on their father’s legacy and lasting impact as a civil rights leader.“Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service,” said Yusef Jackson, Jesse Jackson’s youngest son. “To gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights. To make our nation better. To make the world more just.”The reverend rose to prominence in the 1960s as a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., who his children said “saw something special” in their father. Jesse Jackson joined King’s cause and carried that mission to Chicago, where he championed key causes of the Civil Rights Movement.“There is no one who's been more faithful to the mission of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King than Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson,” said Santita Jackson, Jesse Jackson’s eldest daughter.Jesse Jackson passed away peacefully early Tuesday morning surrounded by his family, who said they will honor his life by carrying forward his commitment to justice and equality.The reverend had been in declining health for more than a decade. In 2017, he announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years earlier, but last April he revealed the diagnosis was actually progressive supranuclear palsy, a condition that also affects bodily movement. He was also hospitalized just months before he passed away.Even in his final moments, Jackson’s children said their father never spoke about his pain and continued to “bounce back,” driven by his lifelong devotion to helping others.Yusef Jackson said what kept his father going “was not his desire for more life, but his desire for more service.“His family said they reassured Jesse Jackson before he passed away that they would “continue his work.”“Each of my siblings and my mother, we wanted to give him comfort that it was going to be alright, that he has taught us enough to continue his work,” said Yusef Jackson.Yusef Jackson said he would be taking the reins of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the famed Chicago-based multiracial nonprofit Jesse Jackson started in 1970.Jesse Jackson never held public office, but in the 1980s, he ran the first viable presidential campaign by a Black candidate. His son, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, said he would use his congressional seat to continue to fight for equality.“That's our calling, that's our mission and that's what we're going to fight for,” said Jonathan Jackson.Funeral services for Jesse Jackson are expected to begin next week.The reverend’s eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said the services will welcome all, regardless of political party, but urged attendees to “not bring your politics out of respect” to his father.“His life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American,” said Jesse Jackson Jr. “We only ask people to come and be respectful.”Details on the services were not known, but relatives said Jesse Jackson will be lying in state at the Rainbow PUSH headquarters and services would follow at a church large enough to accommodate a large crowd. ...read more read less