SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - Philanthropist Jacklyn Gise Bezos, mother of Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and a fierce advocate for children's education, has died at the age of 78 after struggling with a progressive neurological disorder for years.
The news of the philanthropist's demise in her Miami home on August 14 was announced on the website of the Bezos Family Foundation, which she founded with her husband Miguel (Mike) Bezos in 2000.
She is survived by husband Mike Bezos, children Jeff, Christina, Mark, eleven grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
'A quiet final chapter to a life that taught all of us, friends and family alike, the true meaning of grit and determination, kindness, and service to others,' the foundation said on the website.
Along with her husband Mike, Jackie was among the first investors in Amazon.com in 1995 after the couple loaned Jeff US$245,573 for his tech and e-commerce start-up.
Jackie was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, a common type of dementia, in 2020. The condition is characterized by the development of abnormal protein deposits in nerve cells in the brain that affect regions involved in thinking, memory, movement and sleep. The disease leads to a gradual decline in cognitive abilities.
Jackie was born on December 29, 1946 in Washington D.C. to Lawrence Preston Gise, who worked at U.S. government's nuclear research laboratories, and Mattie Louise Strait Gise. The family later moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jackie gave birth to her first child Jeffrey in 1964 while still in school.
After high school, she started working in a bank and continued her studies attending night school classes. She met her future husband Mike Bezos, a Cuban immigrant, at work. They were married in 1968.
Her passion for learning took her back to school in 1991 at the age of 45 to earn a bachelor's degree with honors in psychology from the Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown, New Jersey.
At the Bezos Family Foundation, Jackie focused on two in-house programs: Vroom, a global learning initiative linking brain research to children's education, and the Bezos Scholars Program to aid students in the U.S. and Africa.
She was also involved in charitable projects focused on medical research and community healthcare. Her partnership with the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle led to breakthrough immunotherapy treatments for cancer.
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