Jackie Cole
Meet Jackie Cole! She is in her 90th year, and seems more curious about what comes next than interested in looking back. During our photoshoot, she told me, “The 80s were great, but I’m ready to bring on the new with my 90s.”
She grew up in a home where caring for people who were struggling was simply part of life, something her mother believed deeply in and passed along to her. That early influence became a thread throughout Jackie’s own life. She volunteered with Meals on Wheels, served as a child advocate and ultimately adopted one of the children whose case she had been assigned. After having a near-death experience, she became a hospice volunteer and continued that work for many years.
Alongside all of this, Jackie built a career of her own, owning a post-production film company for more than 30 years. She traveled, hiked, camped with friends, knitted and read. These days she walks every day and has taken on something new: writing. She joined a writing group that she describes as both challenging and a lot of pressure, but she is thrilled by what she is creating, including a piece called What Is Love?
Jackie joked with me that at 89 she is “starting to wind down.” But spending time with her, I’m not sure winding down is quite the right description. She may be moving at a different pace, but she is still curious, still challenging herself, still creating and, as she put it, ready to bring on the new.
What really matters to you?
My health mentally and physically. My body talks to me and I am a good listener. Being active and physically fit at 89 is because I am willing to do what it takes to stay healthy and fit. This is an important job in itself.
What brings you happiness?
Spending time with my family and my beautiful community of friends. Since I am the matriarch in my community, where age does not matter, I believe this is what keeps me young. We have wonderful gatherings where we talk about life experiences and how we can help one another. We laugh together and have fun. This fills my heart and brings me “Joy”! I learn so much from my younger friends, the youngest being 21 yrs. old.
“Listening is the purest form of love”
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced?
I have had many challenges in my life. I had four children in five years. My youngest had physical and mental life challenges. This daughter was a gift and became one of my greatest teachers. I have been married three times. All of my children were from my first marriage. I have been single now for over 30 years and that has given me freedom to come and go as I please. I have no interest in finding a partner.
One of my biggest challenges is that I have asthma and was told I would need to take medication for the rest of my life. I felt I could heal this by many diets and holistic treatments, which I tried for many years. When I was 58 yrs. old I went on a trip to Egypt. The name of this tour was “Life, Death and Beyond”. I was having some breathing problems and I did bring an emergency inhaler with me. I found out I am very allergic to horses and camels. Well, I could not breathe and my inhaler was not helping. I stopped breathing and left my body. I was taken to a clinic along the Nile where the doctor said “she is gone.” I went to the most peaceful, glorious loving place that cannot be described. It was just total love! I was told before I returned to my body that “All That Mattered Was LOVE!! When I returned home I was on a mission to figure out what that meant in my life now.
That has been my life’s journey and I am still learning “What is Love”. I now use medication for my asthma. There are certain areas of Western Medicine I am very grateful!
I have a son who transitioned from a drug overdose when he was 45 yrs old. It has been 20 years since and I think about him every day. I know he is in that beautiful loving place that I returned from and that brings me peace.
What would you change if you could?
When I think about what I would change in my life, I realize everything I experienced through these years were for my benefit. I would not change anything because all of the ups and downs were my life’s journey and all of those experiences has made me who I am today. I love who I am still becoming!
What single word do you identify with?
LOVE. Because that’s all that matters, right??
