03/12/2026
Jackelyn “Jackie” Elaine (Thayer) Culp
By Benjamin Thayer Culp
Jackie was an easy person to get to know; I consider that a fabulous trait in a person. Her engaging personality and friendly demeanor readily broke down barriers with everyone she met. By offering a genuine smile and sharing a kindly word, she put others at ease, seeking and usually finding common ground and shared interests. Her favorite saying was, “Everyone is doing the best they can!” And she meant it. She also embodied the mantra, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all,” which she gently repeated for the benefit of her young sons’ growing personalities.
It is possible that true strength is born of adversity, because Jackie certainly wasn’t born into a life of privilege. Growing up in on the northern tip of lower Michigan in towns like Central Lake, Bellaire and Elk Rapids—which, in her Midwest accent sounded suspiciously like “El Crapids”—was marked by a bounty of adversity and an scarcity of wealth. Houses were bare, uninsulated clapboard structures, and it took a little creative engineering in their daily lives just to “make ends meet.” Jackie, however, had no complaints about her childhood or the challenges they faced. She seemed to revel in the experience, and I believe it was the genesis of her deep reserve of personal strength and of her adventurous spirit.
Her parents simply did whatever they had to do to get by. Virgil, her father, worked several jobs, sometimes as many as three at a time, finding his way as best he could. He worked as a butcher, bringing home scraps, and did odd jobs, but eventually found his role as a soil engineer, helping farmers understand how to better use and replant their produce and trees. His wife Fern also took jobs, and Jackie ended up as the built-in babysitter for her younger sisters, Janice and Shelley. At one point, Virgil traded their only car to his boss as a down payment on a house, and they settled on Spruce Street in Traverse City. It was a good trade, and Virgil and Fern lived in the house the rest of their days.
But for Jackie, adventure awaited in the United States Air Force. It was a nascent time for women in the armed forces, but Jackie was undeterred. Serving as one of the WAFs, or Women in the Air Force, she undertook basic training, but with a twist. Never one to complain, she was pushed too hard by an overzealous drill sergeant, allowing blisters on her feet to go untreated, resulting in gangrene in her leg. It looked as though she would either lose her leg or her life, but, after two days of unconsciousness, she awoke good as new, or nearly so. They offered to let her leave the WAF or to have any assignment she wanted. Of course, she didn’t give up, but took a convalescent assignment in Florida. There, at Cypress Gardens, she joined the Air Force water skiing team in spite of never having skied in her life! But Jackie would try almost anything, and she quickly worked her way, literally, to the top, standing at the apex of the six-person pyramid. I don’t know if it was that experience which got her noticed or her general excellence, but she was chosen as the secretary for the Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Eugene M. Zuckert.
While it might be that her career as a WAF was about to take off, we will never know, as her heart was stolen by my father, Ches Culp. As is so often the case, work and career are sometimes sacrificed for family, and Jackie ended her service and began her family, first with my brother, Bud, and then with me. There were other sacrifices too, including the big leap from geology to flying for Ches, something he never could have done without Jackie’s selfless support. The result was an absent husband who spent as many as 300 days a year on the road. Rather that complain, Jackie took the added time to get her masters in biology and dedicate herself to a new career, and, of course, to her boys.
Never having had children of my own, I can’t honestly say just how much parents sacrifice for their offspring. I do know, even though Ches and Jackie never said as much, that “the boys” became their top priority in everything they did. They moved into the best school districts, provided opportunities in athletics and the arts, and, in general, were just great parents. I know Jackie was her own worst critic, questioning her parenting skills years later and blaming herself for any imperfection. For myself, I have no idea what she’s talking about. After all, I came out perfect!
One thing that truly amazes me, however, is how Jackie reacted to her “empty nest” years. While she always was there as a mother for Bud and me, she never allowed her longing to see me or be part of my life to intrude on my activities. She and Ches took what they could get and were grateful for all the successes in our lives. Much of that success was due to Jackie and Ches. If my English was in error, she would help me correct it. If my attitude was unproductive, she would encourage and counsel me. At one point when I was 12 years old, I told her in a moment of rebellion, “Mom, I love you, but I can’t wait to be on my own.” It must have broken her heart and made her very proud, all at the same time, because that level of independence can only come about through great parenting.
By the time she was in her mid-50’s, she had developed a debilitating case of asthma. While she could enjoy her gardening and working on her genealogy, her ability to do more began slipping away. Rather than give in, she decided to fight back. She bought a bicycle, began training and asked Ches if he wanted to do the Ride the Rockies together. Ride the Rockies, or The Ride, is a week-long ride through and over the Colorado Rockies; Ches said, “No way!” Jackie said, “Okay,” and did it anyway all by herself, camping in a tent and pedaling every last mile! Of course, Ches couldn’t let that stand, so he joined her, eventually drawing in me and my new wife Michele for subsequent “Rides.”
That was a hard experience to top, but once I was out of the Air Force and flying for the airlines, I decided that the adventure must continue. Each year or two, Ches, Jackie, Michele and I would trek off on some other new adventure. Not once did Jackie say no. From Paris to the Grand Canyon, Alaska to Carlsbad Caverns and just about everywhere in between, Jackie sang, hummed, hiked and smiled her way through life.
And that’s what seems most special about Jackie to me. Ask me to sing just about any nursery rhyme and I can do it because Jackie was there to teach them to me. Ask me to work in the garden or cook in the kitchen and I can do it because Jackie was there to teach it to me. Ask me to play the piano, and I’ll do it because Jackie was there to teach it to me…along with the many other teachers who gave me so much in life. But nobody gave me more, could have given me more, than Jackie gave to me.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, March 16, 2026 at the McAlester Scottish Rite. Military honors will be provided by the United States Air Force Honor Guard at 3:00 p.m. at the Masonic Cemetery, McAlester, Oklahoma.
