Jacqueline A Gearity

Jacqueline “Jackie” Gearity passed away at Gladeview Healthcare Center on October 17, 2025 after a six year battle with brain cancer. Born on January 22, 1953 in Middletown, CT, she was the daughter of John T. and Juliette (Kummer) Gearity. The family moved from Madison to Old Saybrook in 1957 where she became a life long resident.

Jackie graduated from Old Saybrook Senior High in 1971. She was student council president and a member of the band and chorus. She played field hockey, basketball, and softball and won many academic awards over her high school years.

In 1975, she graduated from Bucknell University. As a substitute teacher at Morgan School in Clinton, she also coached field hockey, basketball, and softball teams. She worked at Clinton Instrument Company before becoming a bank teller at Essex Bank for thirty years, retiring in 2019.

Jackie had a passion for traveling and learning about cultures. She visited countries all over the world, as well as traveling extensively across the United States. She made numerous photo albums and scrap books of these trips which generated lots of interesting stories, told with her keen wit and sense of humor.

Jackie joined the Old Saybrook fire department in 1989. She served four years as a Lieutenant, two years as Assistant Chief, and two years as Deputy Chief. Jackie was the first female in the history of the department to attain Chief’s position. She was also the first member to serve as Fire Company President and then Vice President after these positions were established. During her decades of service with the fire department, she served on dozens of committees and received numerous awards and decorations. She became a Certified Firefighter III and an Emergency Medical Responder during these years of service. Joining the fire department gave her the chance to feel more a part of the community she loved and offered her the opportunity to give something back to her town.

Jackie is survived by her brother Robert Gearity and his wife Joanne of Norwich, CT. She is also survived by her nieces and nephew and their children: niece Kristen Kleine and husband John (Alyssa, Julia, Mason), nephew Eric Gearity and wife Victoria (Paxton, Levon), niece Kate deDufour and husband Tysen (Emerson, Teagan). She cherished all the wonderful times that she spent with family for holidays and vacations.

A funeral mass will be held at St. John’s Catholic Church, 161 Main Street, Old Saybrook on Monday, December 22 at 11:00 AM. A graveside service will immediately follow at Resurrection Cemetery, 1080 Horse Hill Rd, Westbrook, CT.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society https://www.cancer.org/donate or Old Saybrook Fire Department (Old Saybrook Fire Company No. 1, 310 Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 Attn: Ed Yeager, Treasurer)