Remember Jacky

Jacquelyn Marie Leader

June 21, 1987 - September 4, 2020

After a lifetime of chronic illness, Jacky’s heart couldn't fight the pain and the system any longer. The world lost a shining star. She wanted to be normal but it was impossible because she was extraordinary.

Jacky spent her life making the world a better place. She was fluent in ASL and was on the Dean's List. She filled our home with beautiful pottery, and healthy food. She started sewing when she heard that girls in Africa were missing school because they needed personal hygiene products. She made and sent 50 pads to Mighty Girls. Her friends saw what she was doing and insisted that they, too, needed her quality, unique pads. Her business, Leader Seaming, ( which she referred to as her ‘baby’ ) blossomed and grew into reusable bags of all types and sizes. She felt she was making an ecological difference one bag at a time and all the while being 99% waste free.

Her business supported her love of quilting. She was self taught and knew no fear when it came to mixing bright colors and patterns. She created a method of English Paper Piecing which allows sewists to quilt without hand stitching. Her talent attracted several fabric companies and she became their design consultant and social media influencer.

The entire time she was creating art, she was collecting friends from all over the world. She was a very active member of Quilting Unites Us, being everyone’s cheerleader and mentor. She sprinkled love like fairydust.

Jacky loved her family most of all. She is survived by her parents, Mark & Gayl Leader, her brother, Michael, whom she fiercely loved, and his wife Kristina. Jacky’s niece and nephews were the light of her life. Marcus, Charlotte and Mitchell will forever miss their sweet Aunt Jacky. Like everyone whose life she touched, they will be better people for having loved her. Jacky was always accompanied on her ventures by her fur friends, Casey Jo and Emma Joy. There is rarely a picture of her quilts that doesn’t include one of her quilt inspectors. Jacky has left us with many words of wisdom; she wanted us to love others without judgment, try new things, and eat healthy, Most of all, remember that neon is a neutral color.