Jacqueline Yeenoi Long

JACQUELINE YEENOI LONG

An Elegant Orchid With The Heart Of A Lion [1946-2023]

Jacqueline Long of Carleton Place, Ontario passed April 27th at the age of 76. Jackie will be profoundly missed by her husband Robb, her daughters Allison [Demi] and Natalie [Robert], her son Winston [Sarah] and by grandchildren Theo, Evelyn, Sylvie, Celeste and Vincent. Jackie was predeceased by her mother Tam Hoy and sister Kit Chan.

Born and raised in Singapore, Jackie eschewed a traditional Chinese role in favour of education, travel and self-discovery abroad. Jackie was outgoing and inquisitive; making new friends and comrades wherever she went. Settling in Thunder Bay, she raised her family while securing her professional credentials as a highly-regarded physiotherapist, acupuncturist and practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. She bid contracts, delivered homecare services and managed her own clinic. Jackie was a preferred provider in the Thunder Bay home care system.

Jackie always let her clients know that her time was wasted if they failed to exercise as instructed, and made it clear that she would not be back without their cooperation. She often arrived with a soup or broth, sharing the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine. Her prowess in acupuncture offered a rare additional dimension; leading many homecare patients to seek further treatment at her clinic. It was not uncommon for physicians to refer patients who were not responding to western medicine for her treatment. Her passion for acupuncture led her to many conferences [including the 1996 world conference on acupuncture in Brisbane, Australia] and she served in the arena-styled acupuncture treatment centres in Beijing. A tragic hit-and-run injury in 2005 ended Jackie's career but her focused discipline and determination enabled a remarkable recovery dedicated to running, travel, gardening and doting on her grandchildren.

Courageous to the core, Jackie was always up to a challenge, never dissuaded by opposition or resistance, and shone her brightest when confronting adversity. She was immensely resourceful. She could have written the book on work-arounds. She always found a way. Jackie had bottomless energy; constantly thinking about her next three tasks, forever asking the question "what's next?"

When Jackie looked in the mirror, she saw a runner. "Pick up the pace [if you can]" she would say in her ongoing determination to find another gear. Jackie completed 29 marathons and 80 half marathons, not to mention a myriad of shorter races that helped her training for the long ones. She had good races and bad races, but she never failed to give her best. When she woke up, she was looking forward to her morning run. When she completed her run, she meticulously charted her performance and her progress; always with an eye towards improvement. If she wasn't registered for 3 or 4 upcoming races, she would be looking for another race to enter. As the end drew near, Jackie conceded that she was ready to go home, but on March 17th, she was more specific when she said "I am going to run home".

Jackie was a runner. The foundational part of her day was her morning run. When she woke up in the morning, she knew where she would run, how far she would be going, the speeds and duration she had targeted. She knew how this run fit in with the fabric of her training program, and she was always aware of the destination race that awaited her at the end of this training cycle. She ran to be fit, she ran to be healthy and happy, she ran to be as sharp as she could be, she ran to energize her day, she ran to clear her head of extraneous thoughts and focus firmly on her aspirations, she ran for the sheer joy of achievement, she ran to regenerate and strengthen her body and mind, she ran to restore her soul.

Jackie had a quaint, intense way of summing up situations. On February 25th, as she faded, she simply said "life is short… that's OK… see you upstairs". An inspirational role model to many, but gone way too soon…. she endures in our hearts.

A celebration of Jackie's life will be held May 27th from 11 a.m-1 p.m with reception to follow  at the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home 19 McArthur Ave. Carleton Place. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the Ruddy Shenkman Hospice in Kanata where Jackie began her rest. A celebration of life will also be held at a later date in Thunder Bay.

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