Jacqueline Lianne Bates

May 5, 1986 – April 5, 2025

Jacqueline Lianne Bates—Jacquie to those who knew her laughter, Jax to those who knew her fire, stepped out of this world to the next realm on April 5, 2025, just one month before her 39th birthday.

She was an artist, not just in paint, but in presence. She moved through life like brushstrokes across a sky, bold in color, delicate in detail. She gathered stories from the air, stitched them with colorful passion, and gave them back to the world through canvas and word. 

Jacquie loved basketball the way some people love stars, fully and fiercely. The Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves were her constellations. She watched the games like a poet watching a storm: knowing the rhythm, sensing the tension, always believing in the comeback. In those arenas she found great joy.

Jax believed in people. She believed in social justice. She believed in art as a means of expression,  and that kindness to others was as necessary as breathing.

She leaves behind her mother, Jennifer Broom, and brother Nathan Bates of Minneapolis, her sweetheart Ryan Reichow; they created enduring memories together while sharing laughter and copious bags of pretzel combos. Also left behind are her aunt and uncle, Louise Broom-Peltz and Claude Peltz of Windham, NH, her cousins, Brian, Danielle, and Danielle’s husband Jeff of California, and many other friends, family, and fellow travelers in this strange and beautiful life.

She is welcomed by the spirits of her grandparents: Brian and Sheilah Broom, and Darrell and Karen Bates. They are surely waiting with open arms and a court to shoot hoops under starlight and a puffy cloud to rest upon to paint the rainbows.

Jacquie lived by a quiet mantra, one she carried like a compass:

“Collect, ingest, reflect.”

The world is dimmer without her light, but somewhere, among the hum of a basketball court, the scratch of  pen to paper, and the whisper of a brush to canvas, you’ll find her, still. 

Please join Jacquie’s family to honor her creative life:        

Sunday, April 27th at 2:00

The Beach Club - 2925 Dean Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55416

In lieu of flowers, we invite those who wish to honor Jacquie’s memory to contribute to a GoFundMe campaign that has been created. The funds will go toward placing a memorial bench at an art facility or community park to be a lasting tribute where family and friends can sit, “collect, ingest, reflect.”, on their own lives and our greatly loved Jax.  

Your support, in any amount, is deeply appreciated. https://gofund.me/ce21caaf

Thank you ahead of time for joining us either in spirit or in person on April 27th   

Sincerely - Jennifer, Nathan and the extended family