Jacqueline A. Forcier Duke Goode

1927 - 2015

Jacqueline was born to Hazel and Arthur Forcier and was raised substantially by her French grandmother in Providence, R.I. She was bilingual and attended catholic schools growing up. At age 17, she married Navy Seabee, Harold Duke in Oxnard, Calif., after traveling cross-country in the rumble seat of a car owned by a friend. When WWII ended they returned to Harold's hometown Clewiston, Fla. Searching for work, they traveled to Louisiana and then Texas, where Harold was told if he moved to Anchorage he would have a job as a carpenter foreman working on the military base. In spring of 1949, they traveled with two young sons and a brother, hauling a trailer up the AlCan Highway at a time when it was barely a gravel road and the river crossings were mostly via ferry. It took several weeks to work their way to Anchorage where they first stayed in a trailer park near West High School. Within two weeks they moved onto a homesite parcel in what is now the Muldoon area. (Duben Street is named for the two families; Duke and Bennett.) Their first house was constructed from used concrete form material. Jackie's Christmas present was a window! Subsequently, the federal government provided the opportunity to homestead so they "proved up" on 80 acres in the Rabbit Creek area (now part of the Bridgeview subdivision). While Harold worked construction, Jackie sold lumber from their front yard in Mountain View. Eventually this enterprise became Duke Lumber Sales on Mountain View Drive, at that time the main road north out of Anchorage. Harold and Jackie developed properties into subdivisions and constructed or "flipped" many houses. Ronnie Lane and Kenny Lane are named for two of their sons. Jackie never lived in a completed house until Harold constructed their family home near the lumber yard in Mountain View in 1957. Jackie and Harold attended All Saints Episcopal Church in Anchorage, later becoming members of St. Mary's Episcopal Church. Harold was the contractor for the new church building and they donated the materials and labor for the parsonage. They also supported the development of St. Christopher's church. During these years Jackie and several friends took their children on mission trips during the summer to remote villages in Alaska, conducting summer Bible camps for local residents. In 1962, she and Harold retired to his family farm in Kentucky. Jackie loved horses, eventually acquiring a large ranch where she bred, trained and showed as many as 67 Tennessee Walking Horses as well as Appaloosa and quarter horse stallions. In addition, she raised Hereford and Angus cattle for market. She was a member of the Kentucky Oil and Gas Association, operating oil wells in western Kentucky. She graduated with a degree in evangelism from North Tennessee Bible Institute and Seminary and was ordained an evangelist in 1975. She traveled extensively in Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. She encourage development of many churches by donating land and seed money for operations. She also supported missionaries operating in Africa, Scotland and Hungary during the last 30 years of her life. First and foremost, she invested her love and energy in family and the people she came in contact with. In 1976, she and her sons founded Alma Corporation which operated several business enterprises in Anchorage including bulk vending machines in Alaska, Sourdough Visitor's Lodge and Duke's 8th Avenue Hotel. In 1990, she married William Goode, living on his ranch in east Texas where she continued to enjoy horseback riding. After several years in Texas, she returned to Alaska where she lived the remainder of her life enjoying activities at her church, and time with her family and friends. Her family fondly remembers her concern for their well-being and the strength that came from knowing she prayed for all of us all the time. She is remembered by her friends for her fun-loving nature and for the many hilarious adventures they shared over the years, whether she was in Alaska or one of the many other states she visited or called home. She was a humorous teller of family history stories, the best ones had her laughing at herself. She loved the Lord and spread His love to everyone she came in contact with. She never met a person she couldn't make friends with. In her last two years she lived at Prestige Care praying for, encouraging and providing hope to many patients living there. May her life-long effort to reach others with the good news message be an example to us all. She is survived by sons, Rhonald Duke (Kit) and David Duke (Donna); grandchildren, Samuel (Shannon), Rebecca Roenfanz (Travis), Abraham (Bridgette), Jacqueline, Jessica Koeser (Erik), Emily, Martha, Mary Brown (Les) and John; and great grandchildren, Chloe, Corbin, Caylee, Porter, Cooper, Cailee, Harper June, Vincent, Ethan, Emma, Evan, Julian, Alistair and Marley Ann; her life-long school chum, Shirley Lamb; best friends, Billy Williams and Ruth Durham; and many recent friends in Bereka Church. She is predeceased by former husband, Harold; sons, William, Kenneth and Allan; and granddaughter, Jennifer. Arrangements are by Legacy Funeral Home. A memorial service will be held at Bereka (Wellspring) Church, on Dec. 28, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. Flowers should be delivered to the church.