Obituary of Jacqueline Jeanne Koechlein (Morton)

Jacqueline Koechlein, age 79, on November 25, 2019. Jackie is survived by husband Rich, daughter Laurie, son Rich (Simmie), precious granddaughter Sarah, sister Marilyn Paddleford, sister-in-law Sue Koechlein, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Funeral service is 3:00 p.m. Saturday, December 7 at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 6716 Gleason Road, Edina, with visitation beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Jacqueline Jeanne Morton was born August 2, 1940 to John and Marjorie (Kelley) Morton in Oakland, California. Her father joined the Navy shortly before her birth and the family was living in Honolulu when Pearl Harbor was bombed. After living in Southern California briefly, her family moved to Northern Oregon where her father was an engineer and project manager on the McNary and The Dalles Dams on the Columbia River. She graduated from The Dalles High School in 1958. She met Rich at the University of Colorado at Boulder where they both graduated in 1962. They married in October of that year in California and lived outside of Paris, France the first two years of their marriage. The next ten years saw them living in California, Arizona, New York, and Illinois before settling in Bloomington in 1974.

Jackie was very active at St. Alban’s and in the DAR and other genealogic societies. She enjoyed playing golf with her friends, and helped out her children with countless projects. She was thrilled to become a grandma to Sarah in 2017 and looked forward to watching her grow. Jackie also enjoyed travelling with Rich and visited six continents over their journeys. She was greatly loved and will be missed by many.