Janice Jackson, nee Whitmore, passed away May 6th. A celebration of life will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Olympia, Washington on May 23, 2019 at 2 p.m. She was born April 9, 1945 in St. Anthony, Idaho. With her parents, Elsie and Lawrence Whitmore and her older brother Brent, she moved to Alaska when she was a baby and grew up in Seward, Alaska.
Upon graduation from Seward High School she attended college at Weber State in Ogden, Utah though it was later in her life that she received her Bachelor of Arts from Alaska Pacific University. She had a full life doing such diverse things as driving long distance truck, working for the University of Alaska Anchorage, working for LAPD, and serving in the US Air Force and National Guard for 22 years. Most recently she was a librarian at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Each adventure brought new challenges and sometimes a new location as she moved around.
Unlike some of her generation Janice embraced technology. She used social media to keep track of old friends and classmates, nieces and nephews, as well as kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. Her smart phone was a link to family and cousins through Words with Friends, a substitute for Scrabble—a family favorite to play.
Janice loved to travel. Her adventures took her through many European countries while her military service brought her to others. Some of her trips were to explore her Danish and Irish heritage. Through it all she continued to think of Alaska as home. She was a member of the Alaska Pioneers Igloo #9.
Among her passions were family, reading (especially mysteries, poetry and biographies), collecting angels, dragons and rocks, as well as gardening. She was blessed with a wonderful family that encouraged her in these pursuits, even finding new treasures for her. She loved to sing and often sang in the church choir.
She is survived by her children, Travis (Shelly) Jackson and Toni (Robert) Bylsma; grandchildren Taran Currington, Nicholas Bylsma, Karielle, Kyle, Travis Jr., and Tyler Jackson; great-granddaughter Askyla Jackson and sisters Arden Miller and Ann Whitmore-Painter as well as numerous nieces and nephew and her ex-husband Charlton “Jack” Jackson. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Brent, nephew Jonathan Charles and ex-husband Lonnie Parker.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the Sea Life Center(www.alaskasealife.org) or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation(www.nfwf.org)
Her ashes will be scattered in the ocean. To paraphrase her favorite poem:
I will go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying…
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a … quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trip over.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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