Jacqueline Ann Hettum

Miller – May 16, 1951 – February 8, 2025

Jackie

Jackie entered the world May 16, 1951, welcomed home by her parents, Chuck and Connie Hettum, and a sister, Sandie. Two brothers, Steve and Mark, later rounded out the family. Hers was a 1950s and 60s childhood: days planning backyard carnivals with the neighborhood kids, trips to Blue Lake Park, playing with her sister and brothers. Summers brought Camp Howard and trips to Disneyland. And evenings, evenings meant the family gathered around the TV – weeknights, Leave it to Beaver, Saturday night, The Lawrence Welk Show.

The family had three different homes during Jackie’s childhood all in what is now outer Southeast Portland. Jackie went to St. Henry’s grade school in Gresham and started high school at Marycrest, a Catholic girls’ school. Marycrest proved not to be a good match for Jackie and she transferred to Centennial (Class of 1969). Transferring in when you haven’t attended grade school or middle school with most of the students was not an easy thing. But Centennial proved to be the right place for Jackie. She found her “tribe” at Centennial and those relationships lasted, with several of her friends providing support during her final days.

Jackie often remarked that the highest praise her mother ever gave her was that she was “a hard worker.” And indeed she was. She started working while she was in high school at her parents’ day care center. (Called Pixie Playhouse when the family owned it, the center still exists as Pixie Childcare on SE 174th.)

That experience – and her remarkable love for and knack with children – lead to a successful career with Children’s World Learning Centers. Starting out as a classroom teacher, Jackie quickly advanced to Director of a Center in the Gresham area. Her ability to both motivate staff and nurture children was recognized when she was appointed the District Manager for the Northwest, responsible for the overall development and management of multiple centers. Children’s World honored her as District Manager of the Year in 1996.

Warm, funny, vivacious, whip smart, Jackie attracted friends. People wanted to be around this woman who made you feel both comfortable and special in her presence. Not surprisingly, this meant that there was no lack of men in her sphere. Boyfriends, some more serious than others, came and went through her 20s and 30s.

But it was in her 40s that she met the man that she would marry. Tim Miller matched Jackie’s work ethic, wit and sass with a mix of humor and determination of his own. They forged something special, they were a team, proud of one another, rather amazed at their luck in finding one another.

Jackie’s family loved Tim and embraced him as one of their own. And Tim brought a bonus with him: sons Travis and Shawn, which meant Jackie became a stepmother and later a grandmother and great grandmother, roles she absolutely loved and excelled at.

Part and parcel of Jackie and Tim’s life was their American Legion Portland Post 1 family. For Jackie, the Legion was the perfect mix of social and service. She enjoyed the comradery, the parties, and the standing date with a group of friends for Friday nights. But equally important to her was the opportunity to help others and to honor and assist veterans. She was an active member, one of the original “Calendar Girls.” One of the things she missed most when her health sidelined her was working on events at the Legion. She was not very happy to be given a “sit down” job.

Jackie and Tim honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in 1995. True to form, Jackie made friends there as well and they both loved it so much that they made it their annual winter vacation. Jackie and Tim were in Mexico in 2017 when Tim suffered a fatal heart attack.

Jackie loved her family. She was close to her sister and brothers and their spouses (her “Pit-poo” and “Crash”). She doted on her nieces and nephews, giving them pet names (Sugar Bear and Baby Girl, you know who you are). She had the knack of making each one of them feel like they were her favorite. It wasn’t just blood family. If you are reading this, you were probably part of her “friends like family.” She embraced people with a kind of unconditional love that some of them had never before experienced. The thing was that Jackie loved you just as you are. Just. As. You. Are. Full Stop.

As Jackie’s health began to fail over the last couple years, she was true to form. She was funny, sometimes irreverently so. She was stubborn, sometimes infuriatingly so. She was kind and appreciative towards those who cared for her. But, boy, she hated being the care receiver instead of being the caregiver. And she just continued to love us. The best way to remember her and to honor her may simply be to be kind to and love one another.

We will be celebrating Jackie’s Life with the kind of party sendoff she wanted.

Saturday, March 29, 2005, 1 to 4 pm

The American Legion

1830 SE 122nd Ave.

Portland, OR  97233