Our dear Jeannie passed away on January 11th on her boat in Quartermaster Harbor, surrounded by loved ones. She left life as she had lived it – with determination, grace and love. Since her diagnosis with fatal cancer in September of 2016, she spent her days with those closest and dearest to her. All who knew her felt the quality of attention and love she brought to her interactions with people. She touched a great many lives in ways too numerous to count.

Born the eldest child of James and Mable Bosch, Jeannie was fortunate to spend three years of her early life living on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. To keep her company, Mable imported shirt-tail relatives and cousins who lived with the family for months at a time. Jeannie loved saddling up her pony and going out across the desert by herself or with a cousin for hours at a time. Perhaps this contributed to her life-long dedication to independence and self-determination.

By the time she was 12, the family was living in the Seattle area and she found herself with a new sibling, Leslie, whom she fiercely loved and looked out for until the day she died.

When in high school, she spent a year living in Wales and working at a small inn. Later, she caught the sailing bug from her father and spent many freezing cold days crewing for sailboat races on Bellingham Bay and Lake Whatcom. She also had some near-fatal adventures sailing up and down the west coast of the continent and felt fortunate to have survived those events. She was a courageous woman.

Her marriage in 1977 to Lloyd Corgan resulted in the birth of her only son, Patrick Corgan, whom she dearly loved and cherished.

She and Patrick moved to Vashon Island in 1989, where she made a life, forged deep personal connections and contributed heroically to the community. Her discovery of the dharma teachings of Catherine Ingram was one that she was very grateful for; she found much peace and healing in Catherine’s wisdom. (Please see the article in this issue of the paper for more details about Jeannie’s work and community service.)

Jeannie’s family wishes to thank everyone who gave back to Jeannie and to the family as she navigated the last few months of her life. It was a bittersweet time, and the outpouring of love was so appreciated by Jeannie and her family.

She is survived by her son, Patrick Corgan, his wife, Susie Olson-Corgan and their son, Liam. She is also survived by her sister, Leslie Ferriel, and her husband, Evan Simmons, and their sons, Nicholas Simmons (Gillian Doepke Simmons), Samuel Hankin and Wade Hankin.

A celebration of her life will be held at the Camp Burton Lodge from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 19.

The family invites you to join us as we mourn her passing and commemorate her importance in our lives.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Jeannie’s name to Vashon HouseHold or Voice of Vashon.