Jessie VanVorhis

Jessie Kerani Aleya VanVorhis, an amazing blaze of energy in a small body, passed away on Thursday December 29th, 2022 at the age of 35. Jessie was born in Calcutta, India and died on Whidbey Island, Washington. Her special powers were her electric joy and ability to connect with people.

Jessie faced the challenges of her life with humor and fierce determination. She was born with Morquio's Syndrome and was proud of her identity as a little person and a person with disabilities, which led her to a full life of connection and joy. She was an integral part of many organizations, most notably Little People of America (LPA), where she was a stalwart, the DoIT program at the University of Washington, and Friendship Adventures.

Jessie came to Seattle when she was adopted at one-year-old. She attended Orca Elementary School, Meany Middle School, Ballard High School (Go Beavers!) and programs at Bellevue Community College and North Seattle Community College. She lived for many years in her own apartment in Wallingford and was well known in that community. She still called herself the Mayor of Wallingford. She worked at Archie McPhee, the Wallingford QFC, the Key Arena (Go Storm!), Lumen Field (Go Seahawks!), and Vans.

Jessie loved to travel to regional and national gatherings of LPA, which were the highlights of her year. The next best thing was hanging out at the mall with her friends. She was fanatically devoted to Hello Kitty, Russell Wilson, and John Cena. Jessie also loved going to live WWE, Monster Truck Shows, Sing along Sound of Music, Pug-O-Ween, and the rodeo, particularly bull riding events.

She is survived by her loving mothers Linda Vorhis and Stephanie Van Dyke; her sisters Morgan, Naomi, and Maimuna; important family members Kitty, Adair, Yarrow, Jody, Teri, Jason, and Nate, as well as her aunts and uncles, cousins, her three much-loved nephews, and, of course, her bunny Tulip. She will be missed by all her multitude of friends from every part of her life.