Jackie Jo (Gibbs) Fretwell

Obituary

Class of 1944

May 19, 1927 – Nov. 23, 2015

Jacqueline Joan (Gibbs) Fretwell “Jackie Jo” was a special woman, mother, grandmother and friend. She was born on May 19, 1927, in Elgin, Illinois. She left this world peacefully on November 23, 2015.

When Jackie Jo was eight, her family moved to Weiser, Idaho, where she was raised on the Modern Dairy farm. She also spent many wonderful years on Payette Lake with family and friends, first at Trail’s End, the home of her parents Blanche and Joe Gibbs, and later on “Fantasy Island” a property she purchased with her husband Stanley Fretwell.

Jackie Jo graduated with a degree in radio broadcasting from the University of Washington, and she met her first husband Robert Hilbun while they were both students there. They married shortly after graduating and had two children, JoDee and Robert Earl. Later, Jackie Jo married Stanley Fretwell and they had three children, Josie Jane, Jamie Lee and Jon Riley. Stanley’s three daughters from his first marriage, Christine, Carma Jean and Sue were also very dear to Jackie Jo; she loved and enjoyed them all her life.

Jackie Jo worked throughout her life. She was executive secretary to the president of a Seattle shipping firm, a PE teacher at Boise’s East Jr High, the librarian’s assistant at Boise High School, and she helped her husband Stanley start and run Trend Beauty Products. Even when working outside her home, Jackie Jo always prioritized her role as mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She adored her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and often described them as “practically perfect in every way!”

Jackie Jo’s joyful personality and genuine warmth touched and guided many lives, and her energy knew no bounds. Her deeply loving, kind, and irreplaceable spirit will be profoundly missed.

Jackie Jo leaves behind seven children and their spouses, fifteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, John and Emma Alderson; her parents, Blanche and Joe Gibbs; her Aunt Fern and Uncle Elbert “Pi” Meyer; her husband, Stanley Fretwell; her son, Jon Riley Fretwell; and her grandson, Mowbray Davidson.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, December 5, 2015, at Summers Funeral Home, Boise Chapel, 1205 W Bannock St, Boise, Idaho. A reception will follow at 12:30 pm at Cottonwood Grill, 913 W River St, Boise.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that Jackie’s friends and family donate to a charity of their choice in her name.

The family expresses their sincere thanks to Encompass Hospice and Brookdale Castle Hills staff for their professionalism, support and care.

From The Idaho Statesman Boise, Idaho · Tuesday, December 1, 2015