Ann Jarrett Nelson

ANN JARRETT NELSON

December 1, 1943 – July 2, 2024

Ann Jarrett Nelson of Bainbridge Island died peacefully in her sleep on July 2, 2024, after a brief illness. Her family was with her during her last days. She is survived by her husband Marshall, her son Laird Nelson and daughter-in-law Sarah Auerbach, all three of Bainbridge Island, and her daughter Sarah Nelson and son-in-law Travis Norsen, of Northampton, Massachusetts. She has four well-loved grandchildren, Audrey and Caleb Nelson, and Finn and Tate Norsen. She is also survived by her sister Susan Cook of LaGrange Park, Illinois.

Ann Laird Jarrett was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut December 1, 1943, to Alfred L. Jarrett and Ellen Robinson Jarrett. She lived in Stratford, Connecticut until she was six years old, when the family moved to Dallas, Texas. There, she discovered her lifelong love of dogs and horses, owning two of each during her growing-up years.

She attended The Greenhill School in Dallas, where she graduated as valedictorian in 1961. Between her junior and senior years, she attended the National High School Journalism Institute at Northwestern University and brought home the overall award for creative writing.

Ann returned to Northwestern for college and graduated with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in journalism in 1966. While there, she met her future husband Marshall Nelson, and they were together until he joined the Army and Ann left to work in San Francisco. A year later they were back together, married, and headed to Army life in Butzbach, Germany, but not until after Ann taught that summer at the same High School Journalism Institute she had attended seven years earlier.

In 1969 they moved back to Chicago, Marshall to go to law school, and Ann to take over as editor-in-chief of Ladycom, “the military lifestyle magazine.” (She who, on principle, would not join the officers’ wives club in Butzbach.) For three years, she put her unique stamp on Ladycom, interviewing not just government officials and their spouses, but also military families on food stamps, support groups for families left behind during deployments, and the first woman general of the Army.

In 1972 Ann and Marshall moved to Seattle and Laird was born, then a few years later, Sarah. In between, an old friend, Ivan Doig, asked her to be his agent and manager of his busy magazine freelancing career. A year later, she was working as Ivan’s agent for his first major book, This House of Sky, which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1979. Ivan and Carol Doig remained her lifelong friends.

Anyone who knew Ann knew of her two passions:

First, her commitment to education. In Chicago, Ann taught at the Northwestern University High School Institute for three summers. Then, in Germany she taught English and Civics in the Army’s high school GED program, Finally, in Seattle, She was a tireless volunteer at both The Bush School and Lakeside School while her children were there. She served on the board of trustees and the headmaster search committee at Bush and was a mainstay of the annual Lakeside rummage sale. After her children left for college, she ran the family clothes bank and was a teacher’s assistant at the fledgling First Place school for homeless students in Seattle.

Second, from 1995 until the end of her life, was Ann’s love affair with Wheaten terriers. She was involved at every level – breeding, health research, and showing on both sides of the US/Canada border. She learned to do her own show grooming from her dear friend Elena Landa, and went to the Westminster dog show three times to watch descendants of her beloved first Wheaten win Best of Breed under Elena. Some of her best friends were in the Wheaten community.

Anyone who knew Ann also learned that she was a fiercely loyal friend, persistent to a fault, and someone who reached out to keep connections alive. She had a quick sense of humor that stayed with her to the end, even as other faculties were failing. And those who cared for her in her final days loved her.

She was laid to rest in a family ceremony at Hillcrest Cemetery, just a short dog walk up the hill from her house and garden on Old Mill Road, which Ann always said was her favorite place she ever lived.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island, WA.