Thursday, March 28, 2024

Jessica Green

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In the face of challenges, Jessica Green emanated grace and built a life full of family, friends, generosity, and love. She now joins her husband Everett on a final moonlit flight. Jessica Green (Tilley) was born March 15, 1937 and passed away peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones on April 14, 2017. She was born in Derby, England to Dorothy (Myles) and Edward Tilley. When Jessica was two, World War II broke out and her father, who was a lawyer, joined the Army. He served with distinction under General Montgomery in North Africa and Europe. Jessica saw her father only during brief leaves over the next six years.

Fearing the bombings that would eventually become reality in the industrial city of Derby, Jessica and her older sister, Perdita, were evacuated to Oxford to live with their beloved Great Aunt Margaret. Margaret founded the Catholic Women’s League and studied painting in Paris. Jessica’s brother Paul was born in late 1940 during the Battle of Britain. This period was marked by the contrast of enjoying their time with Margaret while coping with the challenges of being at war, such as rationing and scrambling for cover during air raid warnings. Margaret’s painting of Jessica’s grandmother hung in the Green home for many decades reminding her of the happy times. 

Sometime after the war ended, Jessica followed her sister to Felixstowe, a boarding school on the coast of England. While Felixstowe was a difficult experience for a free spirited girl like Jessica, it was there that she met her best friend Carol Zimmern and another lifelong friend Sally Terry. Jessica spoke of an extraordinary and supportive kindness amongst the girls who missed their families and were beset by harsh disciplinarians at the school.

She attended the University of Heidelberg in Germany and later sailed to America to begin a new life. After spending some time in Portland, Maine, Jessica moved to San Francisco. Once there, she worked as an interpreter in French and German for Bank of America, and later was one of the first employees of Jess Stonestreet Jackson, an entrepreneur and lawyer, who later started Kendall Jackson Vineyards and other wineries. Wanting more adventure, she became a flight attendant for Trans World Airlines, where she met the love of her life, Everett Green, and later married him in Carson City, Nevada. The newlyweds lived in the Bay Area, where she gave birth to Chris and later Suzy in San Mateo. They moved to Lake Stevens, Washington where Craig and then Kim joined the family. 

The young family of six then spent a few years living in Reno, Nevada before they settled down in Dryden. Jessica and Everett bought a pear orchard in Williams Canyon and built their family home. She learned to be an orchardist and cultivated warm friendships and beautiful rose gardens. She adored having friends and family over; she was a fantastic cook and served gourmet meals on the deck overlooking the picturesque Canyon. 

After her first bout with cancer, Jessica and Everett helped found Our House, a charity which provides a home away from home for cancer patients who must travel a long way for treatment. It was a wonderful gift to her friends and family that she was able to live so long beyond expectations and that she fought so hard to live. 

Jessica traded in her urban upbringing to create a life in rural Washington as a loving mother to kids, foster kids, and exchange students. She was a voracious reader with a dry British humor and her command of the English language came in handy to lawyers she worked with over the years. She loved to travel and enjoyed many exotic adventures with Everett. She had a toughness that humbled most yet was also incredibly generous and caring. 

Jessica was preceded in death by her Loving Husband Everett in November of last year. She is survived by her sister, Perdita Harvey and brother, Paul Tilley. She will be deeply missed by her children: Christopher, Suzanne, Craig (Monisha), and Kimberly; and her cherished grandchildren, who affectionately call her Muzzy: Salvatore, Dominic, Jasmine, Christina, Gavin and Anjali.

Jessica’s family would like to thank the Confluence Health and Hospice staff for their loving care.

A Memorial Service of Commemoration to celebrate the life of Jessica Green will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 2 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church in Cashmere, Washington. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cancer Care of NCW, Inc., 1708 Castlerock Ave, Wenatchee, WA, 98801 or St. James Episcopal Church, 222 Cottage Ave, Cashmere, WA 98815. Ward’s Funeral Chapel, Leavenworth, WA., is in charge of the arrangements.