Jackson M. Pongay
Agency patch
Corrections Officer IV

Jackson M. Pongay

Illness
End of Watch July 19, 2020
Age 56
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
The Vigil Panel 172 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Corrections Officer IV Jackson Pongay died after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak among staff and inmates at the Lychner State Jail in Humble.

Officer Pongay had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for four years.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Corrections Officer IV Jackson M. Pongay died on July 19, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 56.

He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 55 at Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife and one child.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
NW-D71S-0RY4-4 earlier record number BO-US-TX-FB2E99F8
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Corrections Officer IV Pongay gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 4 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corrections Officer IV Pongay.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Corrections
Location Huntsville, Walker County, TX
Platform Identity tdcjcidcorr.walker.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 19, 2020
Tour of Duty 4 yrs
Age 56
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail COVID19

The Sacrifice · Illness

Jackson is one of 2,026 officers lost to illness in the United States, 7.4% of the 27,543 remembered there.

33,910 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 2020, 346 officers in the United States were lost to illness, the 2nd heaviest of 108 years on record. The heaviest was 2021, with 564.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Jackson was 56. Of the 1,994 lost to illness in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 42 and 58; the middle age was 51. Jackson had served 4 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

July holds 7% of these deaths in the United States; October holds the most, 15%. Sundays: 14.1%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Illness deaths account for 7.4% of all 27,543 deaths in the United States, the 3rd most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division has at least 120 officers remembered here, Jackson among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Corrections Officer IV Jackson M. Pongay

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division · End of Watch July 19, 2020

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 5-E

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