Jacqueline J. Wherry

Jacqueline J. Wherry

Deland, Fla.

Jacqueline J. Wherry of Deland, Fla., died on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids, after a sudden illness.

Two services will take place for Jackie: in Indiana, family and friends are invited to gather from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, for a Celebration of Life at Flanner Buchanan-Hamilton Memorial Park, Prairie Waters Event Center, 4180 Westfield Rd., Westfield, Ind., where a sharing of memories will begin at 3 p.m. In Iowa, a Celebration of Life is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Oxford Junction Senior Center, followed by a gravesite memorial at the Oxford Junction Cemetery.

Please visit goettschonline.com to share your thoughts, memories and condolences with Jackie’s family.

Jackie Wherry was born in Anamosa, on Aug. 30, 1956, the daughter of Richard and Mary Ann (Stowers) Wherry. She grew up in Oxford Junction, and she graduated from Regis High School in Cedar Rapids. Jackie received a B.A. in education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1977. After two years of teaching in western Iowa she thereafter successfully sought a registered nursing degree from St. Luke’s School of Nursing of Coe College in Cedar Rapids. Following graduation, she began her lengthy career as a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis. She consistently worked as a night shift NICU nurse from 1986 until her retirement in 2021. During this period, she assumed various senior positions and mentored numerous young nurses. She made her home at Mayfair Farm in Westfield, Ind., where she and her partner, Rod Bartlett, also bred and raced standard bred trotting horses.

Jackie’s primary passions were her family and traveling. She traveled throughout the world and North America. She especially valued time spent with her nieces, nephews and her five grandchildren. She also maintained longstanding friendships with her fellow nurses and families of the many young patients for whom she cared as a NICU nurse. Jackie is remembered as a kind and caring individual, willing to help anyone in need. She was loved by her family for her compassionate words of encouragement and support. All who loved her recognized how their lives were enriched by her presence.

She is survived by her partner of 37 years, Rod Bartlett; her father, Richard Wherry; her brother, Gordon Wherry (Sandra); her niece, Angela Strait (Rick); and her nephew, Ryan Wherry (Crystal) and their sons, and daughter, Lee, Will, Kayden and KoraLynn; her stepdaughters, Carrie Gaston (David) and Sarah Zack (Marc); and her five grandchildren, Grace, Hayden, John, Taylor and Emily.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Ann; and her niece, Nicole Wherry.

In lieu of flowers, Jackie would want you to hug someone you love and plan a family vacation.