"He would give you the shirt off his back," said his daughter Pamela Jackson Diedrick. "He would put himself behind the eight-ball to help you."

Milton Jackson, operator of the Primp & Pamper beauty salon and a well-known figure in the bustling 52d Street business district of West Philadelphia, died Friday of complications of diabetes. He was 69 and was living in Sicklerville and Lindenwold, N.J., but had lived most of his life in North Philadelphia.

He opened his salon in the mid-1960s and worked seven days a week to keep the women of the community beautiful. In recent years, he had pushed himself hard to keep working but finally couldn't do it anymore. The shop closed last year.

Milton was born in Philadelphia to Roger and Myrtle Jackson. He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School and attended the Apex Beauty School to get his cosmetology license, graduating in 1963.

His family said that Milton always had a "flair for hair."

He worked for a time for the Asa and Aida Beauty Shop, in West Philadelphia, before opening his own business.

"He could be a hard taskmaster," said his daughter, who works in the payroll department of the Daily News and Inquirer. "But as strong as he was, he was always ready to help someone."

Milton had a strong need to give back to the community. He not only started many a beautician on the path to success, but also employed neighborhood youngsters at his shop to give them some extra cash and keep them off the streets.

Although he devoted much of his waking hours to his work, he found time to do some deep-sea fishing out of Brielle, N.J., and made several trips to Bermuda.

Milton was especially close to his grandson, Jay Andrews, now 27, who helped his grandfather with his business affairs and to get around when he became ill.

Besides his daughter and grandson, he is survived by another daughter, Angela Andrews; another grandchild, Kalia Reynolds; one great-grandchild; and his former wife, Barbara Jackson. He was predeceased by a brother, Gordon Jackson.

Services: 11 a.m. Friday at the Yarborough & Rocke Funeral Home, 1001 N. 63rd St. Friends may call at 7 p.m. tomorrow and 9 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Rolling Green Memorial Park, West Chester.