The Building of a Memorial

  This beautiful Dolphin fountain is located in the Fort Pierce, Florida, marina overlooking the Indian River and Inter-coastal Waterway in Fort Pierce. The memorial was built and completed through generous donations from Jackie's many friends and it was dedicated on July 12, 2003, by the City of Fort Pierce, the Memorial Committee, Jackie’s husband Malcolm and others.

Jackie’s husband, Malcolm, stayed on the ”Jackie D" in Fort Pierce with their beloved Yorkie dog, Muffin, for several months following Jackie's July 1, 2001 death trying to cope with life without her. While their friends in Fort Pierce were very supportive, Malcolm realized he could not remain there and had to move. Malcolm made plans to hold a service for Jackie in Long Beach, CA, near their previous home, and then move to Maui, Hawaii, where they spent many wonderful times together. Malcolm took Jackie’s ashes to Maui according to their earlier agreement if anything should happen to either of them. Her ashes are now interned in several places, including Maui, which Jackie and Malcolm loved. Malcolm now lives Paia, Maui, Hawaii.

Through it all Malcolm knew that he wanted Jackie's life to be remembered and he developed the concept of building a memorial to Jackie in Fort Pierce at the marina. He got the support of Marina Manager Dean Kubitscheck and City Manager Dennis Beach by telling them that he and Jackie’s friends would provide the funds for something very artistically beautiful as a gift to the City.

The marina in Fort Pierce is in a gorgeous location along the Inter-coastal Waterway and The Indian River. Fort Pierce is renowned for fishing with an all weather inlet from the ocean and immediate access to the Gulf Stream. Fort Pierce has a long history as an art colony founded in part by Florida's most famous landscape artist A. E. "Bean" Backus. Malcolm, an artist himself, sought the support of artist friends Jimmy and Cherry Carter who lived in the boat next to theirs; their friend  Gebbina Meijer Morel, Mirta Head and Loretta Northrop of Picture Perfect Gallery, in Fort Pierce, to serve on the memorial committee. Malcolm told them that he would seek donations from other friends around the country if they could oversee the design and construction of Jackie’s memorial which was to be an artistic and beautiful memorial using three broad themes from Jackie's life: 1) her love of flowers, 2) her love of the water, and 3) her love of nature. Leaving them with these general guidelines Malcolm went to Hawaii for two years. These talented people had the strong support of Fort Pierce and the City's Marina Staff, as well as generous financial aid from Malcolm and Jackie’s friends and they built this wonderful memorial. The fountain's Dolphins, which Jackie loved seeing in the river next to their boat, reflect her life and spirit.  Local artist Anita Prentice created the colorful flower mosaic tile base and all of it together reflects Jackie's spirit.

Fort Pierce, Florida, provided this outstanding site in the center of this small new city park. The memorial is surrounded on three sides by water and sits within a few steps of the fueling station which is visited by thousands of boaters making their annual North and South migrations on the Inter-coastal waterway.

In July 2003 Malcolm returned to Fort Pierce for the dedication ceremony of the memorial and to thank the committee, the City of Fort Pierce, and those that had made donations. It was a great comfort to Malcolm when several of their long time friends, Howard Bricker, Sharon and Pete Bowman, and Jean and Lynn Willhite came from California and make a special effort to be there with Malcolm for the dedication. The names of many supporters are listed on a plaque affixed to the back of the emerald headstone which contains a photo of Jackie and Muffin on the stern of their boat. The plaque also has the final line from Jackie’s last letter to Malcolm which was written on the morning of her accident, July 1, 2001.

Since the memorial dedication in 2003, Fort Pierce has gone through a difficult period with the marina's large floating docks which were destroyed by two hurricanes in the summer of 2004, but Jackie's memorial and fountain survived.  Fort Pierce has continued to do an outstanding job of maintaining the memorial, for which Malcolm will be forever grateful.
 

Dedicated Committee Member Jimmy Carter

 
Click Here For Acknowledgements
 

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