Jacqueline Denise England-Som

My beautiful wife Jacqueline (Jackie) D. England-Som passed away in our home early Monday morning on July 6 2015 after a short battle with cancer.   She was born on March 27th 1955 in San Bernardino, California.  Her parents were Frances Luella (Hoffman) England and William Joseph England.

Her father was in the US Air Force and the family spent time in Germany and Bermuda before finally residing in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State.  Jackie went to Christ the King grade school and attended High School in Richland, WA.

 At the age of 20 she was hired as a Field Operator at the Hanford Nuclear site while ARCO was the General Site Manager.  2 years later she transferred to the ARCO Oil Refinery near Ferndale WA where she worked in the Operations Department.  She retired in 2005 after 30 years with ARCO now BP.  However, finding herself a little bored and with lots of energy, she worked an additional 3&1/2 years working various projects for the BP Refinery, finally retiring for good in 2008. 

She loved our daily walks with our friends and neighbors, our dog Jack and the neighbor dogs. We would all pile into the dog-mobile and go on field walks and beach walks collecting beach glass and throwing balls and sticks for the dogs.  As one of our dog walking friends Corinne wrote “We will always remember Jackie as a wise cracking little spitfire who always had a joke or a funny true story to share as only she could tell it!  She had a way of making an ordinary event turn into a belly laugh with all the hand gestures and facial puckering and always with that special twinkle in her eyes.” 

She loved the grandkids and when they came over there would be these huge bubble baths, and  at bedtime we would all watch her favorite Disney films.  While preparing dinners, she would have the grandkids on chairs with aprons stirring pots on the stove or cutting vegetables for salad.

She was preceded in death by her Father William Joseph England and her brother Donald Michael England.  She is survived by her husband Dick Som and her mother Frances England; children Lisa (Som) and Eric Featherstone, Jaime (Som) and Dan Barlean, Derek and Carmen Som; grandchildren Jessica and John Vander Giessen, Olivia Featherstone, Morgan, Hannah and Bailey Barlean and Jackson Ryan Som.

The memorial service will be at 2:00 PM July 23, 2015 at Northlake Community Church, 1471 McLeod Road, Bellingham WA 98226, with Pastor Jeff Geise, officiating.  Jackie’s favorite charities were The Lighthouse Mission in Bellingham and The Humane Society.