Jacquelyn Kennedy Baker, 1936-2018 

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• Jacquelyn Kennedy Baker

Jacquelyn Kennedy Baker, daughter of John and Mary Kennedy, passed peacefully in her sleep at home on December 11, 2018, at the age of 82. Jackie was born May 8, 1936, in Amsterdam, N.Y.

Jackie loved Vermont, where she raised her five children in Chittenden County and spent many summers at her camp on Fairfield Pond. She enjoyed many things in life and loved to travel abroad to exotic places of history, culture, beauty and architecture. From Alaska to Vietnam to Africa, she loved a good adventure. Jackie spent her free time reading and continuously learning, even as a day trader. She also cherished her time with close friends and the Red Hats. But her passion was real estate, where she became a successful self-made business woman.

To Mom, life was about family and church — always keeping family and loved ones close, but directing them with helpful advice and a gentle heart. She was pragmatic with her decision making. A self-taught engineer who had a passion for problem solving, Mom loved to look at problems holistically before coming up with a solution. She was a joyful soul and loved to laugh. She could talk to a complete stranger and end up making a lifelong friend. Affectionately known as Gramma Jake, she will forever be remembered to her children as “Mom.”

Jackie is survived by her daughter and three sons: Anne Latulippe and her husband, Francois, of Duxbury, Vt.; William Rutkowski of Huntington, Vt.; Douglas Rutkowski and his wife, Rebecca, of Hampstead, N.C.; and Michael Rutkowski of Raleigh, N.C. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son Mark Rutkowski, her husband William Rutkowski and second husband Clement Baker, and her sisters Patricia Dalrymple and Barbara “Babs” Leonard.

Services will be held Thursday, December 20, 2018, at 2 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Wilmington, N.C.

A celebration of Jackie’s life, followed by an interment ceremony, will be held in the spring in Vermont.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Jackie’s loving memory to the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center, 1406 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC 28401 and/or Cape Fear River Watch, 617 Surry St., Wilmington, NC 28401.