Jacqueline Kerns

Jacqueline (Jackie) Kerns passed away peacefully October 5^th in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.  Born in upstate New York in 1945 to second generation German immigrants, Jackie was one of five siblings and the first of her family to attend college.  She graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and was a nuclear analyst at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory prior to her marriage.  Jackie left New York for Texas, then Arizona, then California, and finally to Colorado, where she spent the majority of her life.  Jackie loved to travel, visiting most of the 50 states as well as France, Italy, the British Isles and Australia during her life.  Jackie retired from the Rocky Mountain chapter of Junior Achievement, a non-profit dedicated to teaching high school students business skills, in 2013.

Jackie was a talented seamstress and quilter, making her own wedding gown, as well as embroidered ribbons for her daughter's wedding gown, several of her grandchildrens' baptismal gowns and countless heirloom quilts for her children and grandchildren.  She volunteered her skills at People Comforters, a non-profit that sewed quilts for Jefferson County law enforcement and victim assistance staff to hand out to people who were traumatized and needed comfort.

Jackie also had a passion for reading, and upon her family's move to Conifer, Colorado in 1986 was a founding member of the Friends of the Conifer Library, who were eventually successful in bringing the first public library to an unincorporated mountain town with a population of less than 3,000.  If Jackie wasn't working on a sewing project, chances are you would find her somewhere with a cup of tea and a book in her hand.

Jackie gathered friends wherever she went and kept most of them for life.  She was hardworking, generous with her time and did what she could to make the world a better place.  She was a wonderful mother and she will be missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.  She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Edward, her children Todd and Tessa, and her six grandchildren, Michael, Lauren, Joseph, Madeline, John "Jack", and Bethany.  She will be interred at Evergreen Memorial Park and a memorial service will be held at El Rancho Restaurant in Evergreen, Colorado on October 25^th from 2pm to 4pm.