Jackie

Yesterday my sister passed away from Covid. It has completely overwhelmed me. I feel a loss much greater than I could have imagined. Because Jackie is so close to the Lord she was inspired to give me a phone call last week Wednesday. She told me that she felt impressed to call me. I am so glad she did. We had a long and wonderful conversation and it was the last time we spoke.

She told me that she had Covid but felt she was through the worst of it and was on the mend. I am not good about calling my siblings. I love them more than anything in the world but I just don’t think to call them as often as I should. I plan on changing that. Thank goodness for an inspired sister who is open to promptings from a loving Father in Heaven who knew how much I would need that call.

Later in the week Jackie’s condition declined to the point that Melissa and Ross took her into the hospital Sunday evening. They weren’t allowed to go into the hospital with her and though he didn’t say anything at the time, Ross knew that she wouldn’t be coming home. That same night they sent Jackie to Idaho Falls where she could get better treatment. Her condition was better Monday and she even texted Dixie for a while on Tuesday morning but later in the day things took a turn for the worse and they had to put her on a ventilator. That is when I got really worried. Half the people on a ventilator never get off of it.

Wednesday looked much better. She was stable and all of her organs (other than her lungs) were in good shape. They told us that in a situation like this if things weren’t getting worse then that meant that she was successfully fighting the infection.

Thursday looked promising. They had reduced her oxygen from 100% to 90% and were keeping her blood oxygen in the 90’s. We were getting hopeful.

Friday she took a turn for the worse. She was back up to pure oxygen and her blood oxygen levels were starting to drop. Late in the evening they called Ross and told him that he had better bring his family to the hospital. Her heart rate was in the 150’s and sometimes above 160. Her blood pressure was 70/50 and her blood oxygen was 50%.

At the hospital they weren’t allowed in the room as long as the oxygen was on so they stood outside and watched her through a window. When everyone was ready they turned off the oxygen and let them in her room two at a time. The girls let Ross stay in the whole time while they switched out. Five minutes after they turned off the oxygen Jackie’s heart rate dropped from 150 to 0 within five seconds.

While Lester and I were probably the closest growing up, Jackie was always my backup mother. If I needed any special attention (real or imagined) and my mom wasn’t around, then I would go to Jackie. She was always there for me. She would kiss my owies, wash and bandage my cuts and scrapes, and comfort my fears.

I have clear memories of Jackie and I playing on farm equipment back when we still lived on the farm. I also remember that we had a big tree in our front yard and my older siblings would climb the tree. I couldn’t reach the first branch and so I was unable to join them. I remember Jackie boosting me up so I could grab that first branch. Once I had the branch then I was able to join everyone else.

I also remember playing dolls with Jackie. She had these little plastic dolls maybe an inch or two tall. That became a bit of a problem because she always wanted to play house but I wanted to stand them on a box and shoot them with my dart gun.

As we grew older Jackie expressed her love in different ways. I remember a road trip we were on and I was lying with my head on Jackie’s lap. She pulled out her makeup and began decorating my face. While I wasn’t too thrilled about getting made up, I loved the attention she was giving me. I also remember her commenting on how long my eye lashes were as she was putting on the mascara. When I put my glasses back on my eye lashes rubbed against my lenses. That was inconvenient.

I have many fond memories of Jackie in Waterton. It seemed to me that she was bringing home a different boy every weekend. The coolest part was that she sometimes took me with her on her dates. I remember one time that Lester and I were with Jackie and her date eating dinner at Franks Restaurant. Her life was beginning to deviate a lot from mine because she was definitely interested in boys, but I love how she did her best to include me even in this part of her life.

One of the times I was most interested in Jackie’s life was when a movie crew moved into town to film a movie. The leading male role in this film was William Shatner. I have always been a Trekkie so William Shatner, better known and Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the Star Ship Enterprise, was and is a hero of mine. I was trying to figure out the best way to meet Mr. Shatner when he came to me. He was looking for a sauna and our hotel had the only sauna in town. Jackie made arrangements for Captain Kirk to use our sauna and he asked her out on a date. Obviously that relationship didn’t go anywhere but Jackie was definitely a hero in my book after that. She even got his autograph for me.  

My dad went on an LDS mission to New Zealand and in 1968 they had a big missionary reunion. At that reunion my brother Greg met Gaylia Foote. Greg and Gaylia got married in 1971, and at their wedding reception Jackie met Gaylia’s cousin Ross Foote.

Jackie and Ross dated for some time until Jackie sent Ross off on a mission to Texas. Of course Jackie wasn’t one to sit around pining for her missionary, and so while Ross was on his mission she sent several more boys off on missions.

After Ross served an honorable mission he returned home and promptly ended Jackie’s very busy dating life. Ross and Jackie have raised a beautiful family with a strong healthy and handsome son Justin followed by four beautiful daughters, Jamie, Stephanie, Kristen and Melissa.

When they were newlyweds Ross and Jackie lived in a trailer on his father’s farm. I was now old enough to drive so Lester and I made several trips to Fort McLeod to visit them. They eventually ended up in Cardston, and usually when we came to Cardston to visit family or to attend the temple we would stay with Jackie and Ross. I always felt at home with them and she always made me feel that she was as glad to be with me as I was to be with them. Jackie and Ross have moved a few times since then, but wherever she has lived I have always felt at home when I was with her.

It is difficult for me to accept that Jackie has now moved on but when I think of her with Mom and Dad I can’t help but smile. Thank goodness for eternal families.