Jacqueline DesLauriers Obituary

Jacqueline DesLauriers

November 18, 1931 - April 30, 2025

Jacqueline was a trained ballet dancer, and we are certain that she arose from her 2 ½ year confinement in her despised hospital bed to pirouette out the window of her room and into the cosmos.

Born in Sanford, Florida during the economic troubles that fractured families, Jacqueline always found a way to make the most of her circumstances. She was a survivor. She was valedictorian of all her graduating classes, from elementary school through college. She traveled extensively, living for several years in Germany and India. She had 7 passports and an international driver's license. She read novels in three languages. Jacqueline was an accomplished thespian, winning accolades in high school and later at UCLA. She ran children theaters in Los Angeles and Seattle. She taught English and Theater in the Los Angeles School System for several years, then acquired a Radio Broadcasting Degree in Announcing from the Dept. of Education, State of California. Thus, began her last employment. Hired by KCRW (PBS, Santa Monica), her duties at the station included fund raising, producing radio dramas, critiquing art and theater presentations in the Los Angeles area, and monitoring Santa Monica City Council meetings. She had a lifelong interest in politics. After retiring, Jacqueline moved to Blacksburg, Va, to be close to her brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Kitty Jenssen, where she lived until her death. She was married at 19, and divorced 23 years later, had no children (or cats), but always owned dogs. Jacqueline dressed to the nines, drove an experimental red Honda, and was often accompanied by a standard white poodle. Many people thought she was someone famous -- you couldn't miss her!

A few factoids: Jacqueline lost her 5-year old brother in downtown Kalamazoo; fortunately, he found a policeman who took him home. She collected artworks by Picasso, Matisse, Hockney, Bacon, Chagall and others -- all on time payments and over-stressed credit cards. She carried a News Media card from the LAPD. At home, her speed dial included Michael York, JoBeth Williams, and James Earl Jones. In her travels, she stayed at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. She was a member of the Maharishi Ayurveda Association of America and practiced meditation for many years. She drove exotic sports cars, including a Morgan, a Jensen Healey, and a Porsche 911. She adored the opera and Olivia the Pig books by Ian Falconer. She belonged to the Mystery Book Club in Santa Monica. Jacqueline had a massive book collection which was donated to the Little Book Store in Blacksburg, one of her favorite haunts. She was fond of wildlife, but at a distance, calling her brother from the hall closet when a bird accidentally flew into her house. When she died, her brother and his wife found a photo copy of Barack Obama's birth certificate ("Of course, he was born in America", she would say.). From her confinement in a hospital bed, she pursued the elusive Morgan Griffith with multiple phone-calls a week, only to reach his staff.

Those in the know have compared her to an "Auntie Mame", or a "Holly Golightly". In mannerisms and appearance, Jacqueline could have been a stand-in for Audrey Hepburn. Unfortunately, there are no stand-ins for our beloved Jacqueline -- a woman of depth, spirit, eccentricities and true generosity.