Jeff Bezos announced his mom, Jacklyn “Jackie” Gise Bezos, died at her Miami home on Thursday after a lengthy battle with dementia. She was 78.
“After a long fight with Lewy Body Dementia, she passed away today, surrounded by so many of us who loved her — her kids, grandkids, and my dad,” the Amazon founder wrote via Instagram.
“I know she felt our love in those final moments. We were all so lucky to be in her life. I hold her safe in my heart forever.”
Jeff, 61, reflected on the matriarch’s life, writing, “Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17,” referring to when she welcomed him with his biological father, Ted Jorgensen, in 1964.
Jackie and Jorgensen, who died in 2015, were married from 1963 to 1965, and she raised Jeff alone.
“That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work,” the businessman continued.
“She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish,” he added, referring to his stepfather, Miguel Bezos, whom she wed in 1968.
The couple welcomed a daughter, Christina, and a son, Mark, together.
Jeff concluded the heartfelt post with, “I love you, mom.”
According to Mayo Clinic, Lewy Body dementia “is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease” and “affect[s] brain regions involved in thinking, memory and movement.”
Jeff also shared an obituary for Jackie, which claimed she was diagnosed with the disease in 2020.
The obituary also described the businesswoman as “a fierce advocate and supporter, filled with heart for others and never accepting the status quo.”
The obituary also highlighted Jackie’s success, including how she founded the Bezos Family Foundation in 2020 and her “deep” partnership with Seattle’s Fred Hutch Cancer Center, which helped discover “breakthrough immunotherapy treatments” for cancer.
“Jackie’s life of service was second only to her passion for family and gathering,” the obituary continued.
She also helped Jeff launch Amazon with an investment of nearly $250,000 in 1995.