Jacqueline “Jackie” Rhoades was born on December 7th, 1952, to Patricia “Pat” and Charles “Chuck” Smith in Lusk, Wyoming. She passed on October 17th, 2023, in Longmont, CO with her loving husband by her side.
Jackie grew up on the eastern plains of Wyoming as a middle child alongside two brothers and two sisters. She had an interest in competitions and crafts beginning at an early age. She would routinely compete in local 4-H competitions, winning prizes for cooking, sewing, and even a state showmanship award for raising piglets alongside her brothers Lee and Stan, and sister Vickie.
After graduating from Niobrara High School in Lusk, Wyoming, she began attending Casper College where she met her future husband, Mark. After two years she transferred to Kansas State University to further her home economics degree. However, after only a year away, she began to miss Mark, her family, and her home state, and so transferred to the University of Wyoming.
Jackie and Mark married August 15th, 1976 in Lusk, Wyoming. Following this, Mark was offered a position with IBM in Boulder, Colorado and so the two packed their bags and headed south. After this move, she worked in the St. Vrain Valley School District as a substitute teacher. In 1983, they welcomed their first child, Kelly. Three years later their second, Derek, was born.
While her husband was working, Jackie devoted her time to raising the children. She never missed a swim meet, soccer match, or concert recital. After her children moved on to higher education, Jackie was able to pursue her hobbies of reading mysteries and creating detailed needle point and cross stitch. She began attending cross-stitch meetings and conventions, becoming a member of the national and regional arms of the Embroidery Guild of America (EGA) and Friends of Counted Embroiders (FCE), where she made many friends whom she would keep in contact with for the rest of her days.
Jackie was preceded in death by her grandparents, Bess & Jennings Ruffing, Albert & Violet Smith, her parents Chuck & Pat Smith, her brother-in-law Steve Jordan, and her nephew Neil Jordan.
She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Mark Rhoades, their children Kelly and Derek Rhoades, her sisters Vickie Jordan and Fran Albertson, and her brothers Lee and Stan Smith.
Donations in her memory can be made to an organization of donor’s choice, or:
Rocky Mountain Region Embroidery Guild of America
c/o Lucy Bosio
13 Skyline Dr
Wheat Ridge, CO, 80215
Arrangements entrusted to Ahlberg Funeral Chapel
