Jacqueline (Jackie) Rena Gould of Jax Beach, FL, formerly of Brattleboro, VT, passed away at 4:15 AM on Saturday, July 26 at the Hospice Unit at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville, surrounded by family and loved ones. She fought the good fight against colon cancer and faced, with amazing optimism, grace, and resilience, insurmountable challenges and obstacles. She came home to her house at 1216 10th St. N. in JAX Beach on Tuesday afternoon. She was embraced at home by her family and friends and neighbors who cared for her with love and kindness.

Jackie was born September 14th, 1952 to Florence (née Abelowitz) and Sheldon Gould in Elmont, NY, She grew up a few blocks from Belmont Racetrack, the third leg of the Triple Crown of horse racing. Early on, she became a gifted artist and an accomplished student. She attended Elmont Memorial High School excelling in both art and academics. Even in High School she developed a commitment to social justice and equality, that remained a guiding principle throughout her life.

She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York studying education, environmental sciences, art and nutrition. Her years in Ithaca were formative, deepening her commitment to social change and political activism.

Following college, Jackie moved to San Francisco, where she taught science at the Exploratorium and facilitated classes at the People’s Law Center. She lived in the Mission District and navigated the hills and winding streets of San Francisco on a motorcycle. She developed an eclectic collection of friends and friendships that would last throughout her life. Jackie nurtured her relationships like she did her gardens.

She returned to the east coast in 1977, moving to Brattleboro, VT. She studied environmental education at Antioch College in Keene, New Hampshire where she met Chris O’Brien and married. She went on to teach elementary education at Gill Elementary School in Greenfield, MA. She became a Master Gardener, her vegetable and flower gardens legendary amongst her friends and the Brattleboro community.

She had her daughter Sara and her son Zev, the loves of her life. They were born and raised in Brattleboro, all of them becoming foundations and pillars of the local community but later finding their own communities…Sara in Jax Beach, FL…Zev in Denver, CO.

In 2016, Jackie moved to Jax Beach, FL to be closer (5 minutes away) from her daughter and grandchildren, Molli and Braxton. She very quickly found her niche…volunteering at the BEAM, a thrift store serving the Beaches area, and teaching Sunday school at the Beth El Beaches Synagogue. Some say, “You can make new friends, but you can’t make old friends”…but somehow Jackie was able to make new friends on a deep and joyful level and surround herself with love and commitment.

In the Fall of 2023, Jackie was diagnosed with Colorectal cancer. Her initial course was challenging, but despite this she travelled the country and the world to see her friends and family, somehow putting her own health challenges and concerns aside, and sharing joy, and dance and love with those she loved and strangers she met. In January, 2025, Jackie unfortunately began experiencing symptoms and cataclysmic setbacks that were later discovered to be due to recurrence of her cancer. Despite all of this, she visited her son and 2 year old twin granddaughters in Denver.

To her family and friends Jackie was a life force…a force of nature. She was foundational to their world and universe. She was truly a woman of valor in every sense! A beacon of light and laughter and knowledge and wisdom for those who had the good fortune to cross her path on their journey. May she rest in peace…yehi zichra baruch, (“may her memory be a blessing”).

Jackie was predeceased by her parents, Florence (née Abelowitz) and Sheldon Gould of Elmont, New York. She is survived by her daughter Sara Marvin and her husband Malcolm and grandchildren Molli and Braxton; her son Zev O’Brien and his wife Melissa and grandchildren Mazie and Makenzie; Her brother Bruce Gould, his wife Lisa and nieces Taryn Teninbaum and Rachel Peacock and nephew Zachary Gould and their families.

Her funeral was held at Beth El Beaches Synagogue in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl, on Wednesday July 30th, 2025. She was buried at the Beth El Beaches Synagogue section of the Ponte Vedra Valley Cemetery, 4750 Palm Valley Road, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Education Fund at Beth El Beaches Synagogue at:

https://us.rakefetonline.com/…

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