Constance Jump was the first born of Margaret and Ellis Jump on August 3, 1946 in Oakland, California. She would be followed by brother Leyton and sister Janet. Connie was a lifelong active Quaker. She lived with her family in Portland, Oregon until her high school graduation in 1964. There was a two year stint, 1955 – 1957, in Darmstadt, Germany while Ellis was doing his alternative service with the AFSC.
Highlights of this period of her life: She attended Alameda Elementary school where she set several sporting event records in running and softball throwing. At Grant High School she was a member of the marching band playing the transverse flute. She attended Multnomah Monthly meeting and was clerk of Pacific Junior Yearly Meeting for one year. She joined her family in several 50 mile backpacking trips. She named and trained the family dog Utie (pig Latin for cutie.) With a heavy academic schedule, she graduated in the top ten out of 850 in her high school class. She stayed in touch with a group of high school friends throughout her life.
For the next five years, she attended several colleges and universities graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1969. A part of her personality downplayed this academic achievement. These schools included Mount Holyoke in South Hadley, Massachusetts, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, University of Portland, and finally University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
For the next 5 years she lived in England and Germany, attending different Friends meetings and working as a translator for Zeiss Ikon. Her knowledge of German and Latin was very useful.
Upon returning home she had jobs as a conflict resolution counselor in New York and then Washington State. During her wanderings, she was gutsy, resourceful and outgoing.
Connie’s life then moved to Seattle where she would reside for about the next 20 years. She became an active member of University Meeting, where she was a quirky, vibrant and generous part of the young adult Friends there. Connie was one of the University Meeting Quaker women who edited a journal called Friendly Woman for several years. She acquired Houseboat #3 on Portage Bay and started “Monday Night Potluck” for folks on the dock and an ever expanding group of friends. Her frog collection was started, be it statues, pictures, jewelry or all other frog and toad forms. She became trained as a Master Gardener and trained folks to use small plots in the community gardens to raise vegetables and spices. This skill led to a part time job as an Extension Gardener Aid where she would teach classes and seminars on home gardening. Her Seattle time involved a variety of unique jobs from Kelly Girls temporary office work, groundskeeper at the VA and Animal Vector Inspector to sales at Fabric stoneware.
Connie had a life-long ministry of writing cards, letters and occasionally sending small gifts to friends both local and around the world, bringing joy to their lives. She had a large collection of cards, choosing ones that fit the personality of each receiver. Whenever someone was ill or needed a lift, they were likely to receive a hand-penned card from Connie. Indeed, 3 cards were sitting ready to go out in the mail when she died
Connie's mental health suffered from time to time and led to periods of internal chaos, darkness and isolation in her life when she depended on all the friends she had previously helped to aid in her support.
Her love of animals was an integral part of her life. She was a home for rescued tropical birds both in Seattle and Port Townsend with adopted birds numbering between the usual of one or two, to 28 at an extreme. She acquired her beloved service dog Toby, a standard poodle, in about 2010. Toby was an integral part of her life until the end. Toby’s annual birthday parties, a potluck for all friends, were a more important event than Connie’s own birthday. Cats were often part of her household. There was a period of time when she had large snakes. Llamas, sheep and goats also shared parts of her life. For 6 years, Toby and Connie participated in Read 2 Rover, a program where elementary students read to dogs to improve their comfort and pleasure in reading.
As the last century came to a close, Connie was in Olympia, Washington and starting a new career as a companion and caregiver for elderly women. This led to her moving to Port Townsend as the new century started and living with Barb Cochran, a retired tugboat captain and ex-lighthouse keeper. These 7 years brought happiness to both of them. With Barb’s passing, Connie moved into her Port Townsend mobile home where she and her dog, cat and parrot would live until her end.
Connie was active in the Port Townsend Friends Meeting and participated on many committees. At the time of her death, she was part of the Ministry and Counsel, Outreach, Meetinghouse, and Peace and Social Concerns Committees. She was part of a spiritual nurture group which has met for the last 10 years of her life. As COVID entered everyone’s life, mid-week worship and committee meetings were held on her outside covered porch.
Connie’s life was full and also not an easy one. She was well read, well educated, kind, friendly, creative, caring, and a unique person. Connie was egalitarian, treating all people with love and consideration. She had a sense of justice laced with humor, saying things like “The patriarchy isn’t going to smash itself.” She enjoyed hosting parties. During the last part of her life she suffered from physical ailments and chronic pain that limited her life. She came full circle from being a caregiver/companion for others to needing others to care for her. She will be missed by many.
She passed away suddenly of natural causes at her home in Port Townsend WA on November 29, 2021. She was 75 years old. She is survived by Janet and Leyton.