Remembrances

…an extraordinarily moving celebration of Jackie’s life.  I learned so much about her today; wow, what an amazing person.  I hope the experience provides some healing for your family.

Wow, what a moving and special day. Parts sadness, parts humorous, parts too painful to articulate. So much emotion all day, hard to function with such a loss. She was a gem, a beauty, a prize and a kind generous soul.

….I feel very lucky to have gotten to know her during today’s memorial. What an extraordinary day.  I was touched by so many things … how many different people from different walks of life who loved her … your school community, Jackie’s horseback riding buddies, the old girlfriends, the Wild Aid charity, the boys’ third grade teacher, and the loving comments in various languages from your guys’ global community.

                Many images are still in my mind. Jackie’s mom and dad speaking from their hearts about Jackie as a kid … the way they appreciated the embrace of the families... How all the aunts loved all the nephews and nieces. The images of the animals on the mend in your kitchen. What a spirit Jackie was.

                I was amazed at the poise and eloquence of your Benjamin and Daniel. Extraordinary young men. Your boys are loving and insightful beyond their years. And I am so happy I got to hear of your and Jackie’s love story. Just beautiful.

the most amazing tribute to anyone that I’ve ever experienced. It was so full of thought, care and so much love. Daniel and Benjamin were so poised and eloquent. We were so honored to have known Jackie. She will never be forgotten.

What a beautiful and fitting way to commemorate Jackie’s amazing life.  The ceremony was heart-breaking yet incredibly life-affirming.  I felt inspired and hopeful afterward from the courage and honesty of your sons.  You call them boys; they are men in my eyes.  There is a palpable sense of strength and unity flowing between the three of you.  Your wife touched a lot of people very deeply.  Thank you again for inviting me to yesterday’s ceremony.  It was one of the most beautiful expressions of love I’ve ever experienced in my life.  I miss Jackie terribly.  She’s alive in my heart.  I think of her with fondness all the time.

we were so profoundly impacted by Jackie's beautiful service yesterday. Although we only met Jackie briefly when she was dropped Daniel off for an overnight a couple years ago it was very evident what very special and truly exception person she was with a heart of gold and soul of an angel. What a beautiful tribute to her and her life with you, the boys and everyone she loved. 

I am so overwhelmed with both sadness and deep, deep love from yesterday’s memorial service. I am thinking constantly about your request that we try to be more like Jackie.  Since the service I am trying mightily to be more kind to all people and more loving to those who I do love, but who often annoy me.  Her spirit truly does live on.  

That realization of gratitude amidst grief that you spoke of is something that we are still feeling powerfully having been in community at yesterday’s beautiful memorial. Thank you for the profound generosity of the gathering, and the hope it instills that will continue to inspire and reverberate outward and within as we remember unforgettable Jackie.

It was such an honour for me to be able to attend Jackie’s memorial service yesterday. To have known Jackie is a real blessing, and the memorial cemented this, a very sad yet moving and beautiful day.  Her infectious energy and love really was her legacy. She loved with all she had whether you deserved it or not.

To witness so many people she touched in her lives was truly special. Jackie lived a life that I can only dream about and inspires me too.

I will certainly miss Jackie dearly and yet She made me realise that I can be a better person and for this she will always have a piece of my heart.

Yesterday was the most beautiful and wonderful tribute to Jackie/Mom. She certainly deserved the great words and deep feelings of love. She will always be in my heart with loving thoughts.

I can’t stop thinking of the celebration of Jackie’s life yesterday.

The love and warmth in the room will stay with me for a very long time .

I know Jackie felt it wherever she is.

Know that Jackie will always be on our hearts.

the tribute to Jackie was perfect in every way. You captured her spirit in the tone and warmth of everyone who participated from around the world. Thank you so very much for sharing your love story with us it was wonderful to hear and to know what an exciting and vibrant life you shared. Your boys were amazing in their ability to express their love and pain and how proud you must be.

As for us you have helped us to know Jackie better and to feel closer to her. I looked at her mountain this morning and thought of her and her life and found comfort in looking up to the hills...I possibly always will. She had a light and glow about her that is rare. How fortunate we all are to have know her.

It was the most powerful service that I have ever attended and will stay with me for a very long time.

You nailed it! Your love came through with every word.…And hearing from the many people in Jackie’s world that I didn’t know, including her horse community, her writing community, her Wild Aid community, and her many friends abroad, really drove home the message that her refrain that she “needed to get a life” was all for naught. She lived a big, beautiful life. When I compare it to my own, I realize I haven’t done half as much living. It inspires me to do more and be better. That will always be part of her legacy. She was one-of-a-kind and will not be forgotten.

I wanted to say that the service on Friday was beautiful and inspirational to me. Especially for me as a mom, in the middle of a very challenging period in our lives, the stories about Jackie made me feel encouraged to bring a more positive energy and joyfulness to the every day acts of raising the girls.

I haven’t stopped thinking about Jackie’s memorial since Friday. It was so incredibly moving and it so beautifully captured the full-hearted, luminescent being that is Jackie. I left that afternoon determined to live my life in a more Jackie-esque manner. And I know I’m not alone in that.  If I can experience even 1/10th of the love and connection that Jackie shared with the friends, family, strangers and furry ones around her, that would be a good life.

I was so honored and deeply touched to be at Friday's service.  I feel privileged that I had the opportunity to know Jackie, even just a little bit.  I’m touched by the very many people who’s lives she greatly impacted and their stories which I’ve been replaying in my head since Friday, while thinking about her bright, gleaming smile across the campfire, and her lovely voice singing Van Morrison. I wanted to let you know that over this holiday period I will be dedicating down-time, meditation, and hopefully some important personal growth to Jackie.  There are so many things that I can learn from her about the art of living and about being a better person.  Jackie’s infinite kindness, huge generosity, and the beautiful spirit from which she gave so much to others will be among what I’ll be contemplating and trying to learn from.  

we wanted to tell you how moving and perfect Friday's tribute to Jackie was. You couldn't have done a better job in capturing the essence of your beloved Jackie. There was so much love in that room. In honor of Jackie, we know that all of us who were there will seek to bring more kindness in our own lives. 

It was so moving. I did not email you immediately because the service inspired me to shut down for 24 hours. I haven’t done that in a long time. But I really wanted to sit with all that was said Friday.

Without knowing Jackie, I walked away filled with the power of kindness that emanated from your wife's spirit & life's work, and regretful that I didn't have the opportunity to get to know her. 

A beautiful message of the importance of spreading laughter and kindness,  that a smile lifts burdens, and to work for change and hope is joy. 

That was the most beautiful memorial. Everything about it conjured up Jackie’s unbelievable spirit. I really felt her there in the room.

I really felt Jackie’s presence in the room through the stories, the videos and pictures and mostly through the tears and the love pulsing through the JCC that day. That amazing woman created more light and love in the universe than just about anyone I know. 

It was the most beautiful tribute to a most beautiful soul. I've met many people in my life that are beloved and respected and who had influenced people in a personal way but never have I met anyone like Jackie who would literally shine her light on anyone within eyesight. And from what I can tell, her effect on people was global. It was impossible not to adore her, to feel comforted by her presence and in retrospect, to feel I was in the company of an angel. She was forever (and honestly) cheerful, optimistic, caring, sweet, light-hearted  and as someone said, "always made you feel like the most important person in the world."

The truly most amazing thing as that even after her death, she continues to inspire us - to be more like her, to strive harder to be more kind, more generous, more patient, more compassionate, especially to the most needy of this earthly creature.

I've been thinking about you every day since your loving memorial service in Jackie's honor. The range of speakers, stories, photos, videos, and music captured her essence beautifully. It's a rare spirit who moves through the world bringing light and love to all in her path on a daily basis. This was Jackie, your beloved partner. Her global village of people near + far, family, friends, acquaintances, and animals are all the better from her ready smile and limitless desire to give. 

I just wanted to let you, Ben and Daniel know how much I was touched by Jackie’s memorial. It was such a beautiful tribute to the light, grace and love she brought to every living being that she came in contact with.

Jackie’s spirit is still very much in the Sausalito air.  I am deeply saddened by this tragedy, while simultaneously moved and inspired by the depth of her warmth and the impact she made in her lifetime.

I have the program with that gorgeous picture of Jackie sitting on my desk  She reminds me every day about Kindness.

we were honored to be at Jackie’s memorial, and have thought much about her in the past weeks. Trying to channel her kindness to all and in all situations - her memory gives us much to live up to!

It was such a beautiful testament to the person Jackie was, the gifts she brought family, friends and the world, and the many things she would want us to do and treasure in our lives moving forward. Among the many beautiful elements, the videos of messages from the friends you and she had made from around the world were touching and a testament to the power of kindness to create meaningful connection across cultures, languages and distances. 

We were so touched and moved by the way in which you honored Jackie, as the unique woman and spirit who blessed us all for a while with her presence. I so regret that I didn’t make the time to get to know Jackie better. Your comment about feeling both unbearable loss and overwhelming gratitude at the same time will stay with us forever. That expressed the feeling of everyone in the room. The boys’ tributes to their mom were so full of consciousness, love, and appreciation for what she’d given them. You will always be able to see her in them. I believe everyone in attendance hoped that they would leave such a fierce footprint in the world. I’m not sure what I believe either, but for that day, I believed that Jackie’s spirit was there in the room, taking it all in – grief, gratitude, memories, friendship, laughs –a giant wave of love lifting her