Jill Anderson Obituary

Jill Margaret Anderson

April 23, 1951 - April 6, 2017

Jill Margaret Anderson passed away peacefully on Thursday evening, 6 April 2017, following a contentious battle with ovarian cancer. She wrote these words in the weeks before her death and wanted them published, as is, for her obituary:
Her best friend, kvetch, and wife, Karen, was there with her every step of the way. They met nearly twenty years ago, deciding at that meeting that there was simply no one better, nor more suited to each other, to have a go at life with. Jill's existence came precipitously close to being idyllic, as Karen did everything she could do, to make it so. Jill had her Bengal cat, Tutuls, close by and awaiting his treats. Tutuls feigned concern about her treatment, and consulted frequently with her oncologists.
Jill worked for nearly 40 years in hospital administration throughout California and Arizona, primarily as a Medical Staff Director – where Medical Staff Directors do clandestine (albeit legal) things under the auspices of the organized medical staff. 'Nuff said, your jaws are already starting to clamp. Jill retired in February 2014, after 20 years at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, to care for her ailing but not overly effusive father. Jill and Karen were married in May 2014, in a magical ceremony on a private island on San Francisco Bay. Jill's father died that October, and Jill was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer a matter of months later.
Jill and Karen loved to travel, particularly to the Caribbean, Tahiti, Hawaii, Mexico and Central America, embracing not only the music but also the wisdom, joie d 'vivre, and culture of these places. Jill spoke fluent Spanish and loved to poke fun at Karen's deplorable pronunciation of Spanish (or was that Esperanto?). Jill and Karen lived in Foster City and loved their waterfront home, which they had rebuilt and decorated from the bottom up. They would frequently motor the Foster City lagoons in their electric boat, friends on board and wine in hand. Jill also enjoyed gardening, lap swimming, gourmet cooking, golf, opera, reading, collecting indigenous art, fine dining, and fine wines.
Jill was an Air Force brat, having lived in dozens of places in the U.S., Asia and Europe. She and Karen repeated this nomadic behavior through frequent visits to Virginia City, Nevada (where they dressed up as cowgirls and hung out at the Bucket of Blood Saloon), Sugar Bowl Ski Resort (where Jill fell off the chairlift on the first run of their first trip and decided that snow-shoeing was better for her), and wine country (to stock up on their favorites at Silver Oak, Darioush, Rombauer, Duckhorn, Sattui, and Cakebread).
Jill was born in South Dakota, of Swedish descent, to parents Byron (a career air force officer and civil engineer) and Doris, and older sister Gail. As a little girl, Jill delighted in going rock hunting with her Grandmother Price in the Black Hills and the Badlands. She also loved hearing her Grandmother Anderson's stories about growing up in a sod house on the prairie. Jill spent her elementary school years at Kadeena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, and remembers playing on old abandoned WWII armaments and having the "run of the island." High School brought her to Wiesbadan, Germany, and she returned to the States for college.
Jill always said that she had relatively undistinguished academic achievements in English Literature at University of the Pacific and Cal State Northridge, which was just fine with her, because her heart was in music. In her more impressionable youth, Jill developed a love and deep appreciation for all forms of music, particularly jazz. She had every recording, every piece of sheet music, and every bit of paraphernalia relating to Ella Fitzgerald that she could get her hands on. She sang professionally for 15 years (I didn't sing as well as Ella, or well…..things may have turned out differently). She also played jazz piano and guitar, and sorely lamented the passing of Ella, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Oscar Petersen, and so many more brilliant individuals. There are simply no more brilliant individuals to take their places.
Per Jill's wishes, there will be no services. She would like to encourage women to consider having their ovaries removed when they are no longer needed for childbearing, as ovarian cancer is almost always fatal. She would also like to encourage donations to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance at <ocrfa.org>. Condolences may be sent to Karen at