LIFE STORY SERVICE
Saturday, February 8, 2025
11:00 AM EST
Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes
Kalamazoo Location
6080 Stadium Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
(269) 375-2900
Driving Directions
RECEPTION
Saturday, February 8, 2025
11:30 AM EST
Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes
Kalamazoo Location
6080 Stadium Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
(269) 375-2900
Where food, drinks, and stories will be shared.
Contributions
At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.
WMU Gift Processing
1903 W. Michigan Ave.
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5403
Please make checks to: Mallinson Science Institute
The Kalamazoo College Fund - C\O Kalamazoo College Office of Advancement
1200 Academy Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
Web Site
Life Story / Obituary
Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Vella Mallinson was born on November 30, 1926 at Pontiac General Hospital. She was the first born to her parents Charles and Herma (Reynolds) Buck of Birmingham, Michigan. Her parents knew the value of hard work - with Charles working at a local hardware store and soon into Edison Electric. Herma was a school teacher before Jackie was born, planting the seed for a love of learning that stayed with her throughout her life.
She was raised in the family home in Birmingham alongside her younger sister, Sallie. Jackie was active in Girls Scouts from elementary school all the way up through the summer she graduated high school, where she worked at the Girl Scouts Summer Camp as the camp’s “business manager”. Through those years she found a lifelong love for kayaking and being on the water. At the age of two, Jackie learned to swim. Her swimming lessons would consist of jumping off a raft that her father built in Square Lake. Her father would say, “If the raft tips over, you grab the ring and hold on!” One day, the raft tipped and she did exactly that: holding on to the ring while submerged under water. Her father dove in to save her, and Jackie often said, “I would have still been there if Daddy hadn’t come after me, since I always did just what I was told.”
All who knew Jackie will attest that she had a true love for learning and education. She received her BA, cum laude, in Biology and Chemistry from Kalamazoo College in 1948. As she started her first teaching job in the fall of 1950, she moved back in with her parents to save money. She needed to buy a car and get ready to continue graduate classes (her first year's salary was $2,600). In the summer of 1951, she enrolled in courses at University of Michigan, where she earned her MA in Science Education and in Guidance Counseling. U of M is also where she met her future husband, Dr. George Mallinson.
Jackie and George were married on August 21, 1954. They began work in Kalamazoo, spearheading the creation of the graduate program at Western Michigan College, which was soon renamed Western Michigan University (WMU) in 1957, in large part due to their efforts. She taught there as an adjunct associate professor until 1990. Throughout the course of her career, she co-authored textbooks, ran seminars, trained teachers, wrote hundreds of academic papers, and created a lasting impact in the world of education. She sat on and ran many organizations through her career, such as the National Science Teachers Association and American Association for the Advancement of Science to name a few. In a thank you note to Jackie for hosting a dinner at her home, Dr. Russell Siebert (History Professor and Vice President of Academic Affairs at WMU) said of her: “Teacher par excellence, scholar, author, gracious hostess, culinary artist - this is the way a citation would begin if we were to prepare one about you to be read at some public ceremony.”
To quote Jackie: “I have always believed that - to use a trite phrase - ‘teachers are born, not made.’ And, I seemed to have been a ‘born teacher.’” In 2006 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Western Michigan University. Her children and many of her grandchildren, all of whom were supported in their education by Jackie and George, were proud to see her efforts recognized.
As accomplished as she was professionally, Jackie’s world revolved around her family. Over the forty years of their marriage, Jackie and George raised four beloved children: Cyrus (Cy), Virginia (Ginni), Charles (Chuck), and Carolyn (Carrie). Jackie thrived in her role as a mother, and she worked tirelessly to balance her career with raising her children. Weekends and summers were spent hosting guests at home and in Cedarville, MI, where her parents had built a summer home for generations to enjoy. Later in life, Jackie formed a special bond and attended milestone events for each of her ten grandchildren, and became a loving figure to her ten great-grandchildren.
Jackie loved to travel, kayak (even into her mid-90s), take people on boat tours around the Les Cheneaux Islands, bake, host friends, make people feel loved, and talk well into the evening over drinks and laughs. Jackie was famous for her hospitality, hosting dinners for faculty or visiting scholars to the university (as noted above), and later for her condo association, of which she was a board member for many years. But her family will always remember the holiday gatherings. Easter, Thanksgiving and her famous Christmas dinners, enjoying Grandma’s famous filet mignon, cheesy potatoes, all prepared with love, and served while wearing her famous light up Christmas tree sweater. Whenever she was with family, love and generosity was felt by all.
Jackie has left behind records of her life that will be cherished and read, and has left lives touched. She was a strong, independent and intelligent woman, whose warmth and extroverted nature left a lasting impression on everyone she met. She built meaningful relationships that lasted through her entire life - maintaining a close friendship with her college roommate, Joan Millar, until Joan’s passing in 2023. After years of great health and a wonderful mind, Jackie’s health began to fade in late 2024. She passed away on January 15, 2025, in her home with her hands held, surrounded by family and love.
She was preceded in death by her parents Charles and Herma, husband George, sister Sallie, and daughter Carrie (in August 2024). She is survived by her children: son Cyrus (Carol), daughter Virginia, son Charles, and son in law, Rick; her grandchildren Gayle (David), Holly, James (Yuliya), Melissa (Kris), Travis (Rachel), Dustin (Bailey), Matthew (Hanna), David (Caroline), Sarah (Kylee), Kristine (Matthew); her great-grandchildren: Blake, Coburn, Elliot, Eustace, Violet, Clara, Bennet, Theodore, Jack, and Nicholas; and her nephew Thomas, and grand niece Amy (Wade).
A Life Story Service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, February 8, 2025. at the Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (269) 375-2900. A reception where food, drinks, and stories will be shared immediately following the service. Celebrate Jackie’s life online by sharing favorite stories, photos, and signing her guestbook on her dedicated web page at BetzlerLifeStory.com.
Memorial contributions may be made to: WMU Gift Processing, 1903 W Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo MI 49008-5403 USA, Check made out to Mallinson Science Institute or The Kalamazoo College Fund, C\O Kalamazoo College Office of Advancement, 1200 Academy Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49006