Lynne Elizabeth Jacks, Longtime Westfield Resident
Lynne Elizabeth Jacks (née Gorss), 81, of Westfield passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at the Center for Hope in Scotch Plains after a brief illness. Lynne moved to Westfield in 1976 and to Cranford in 2005. Recently, she lived at Sunrise of Westfield until the time of her death.
Lynne was born to Elizabeth (née Neeley) and Gerald Gorss on May 26, 1943 in Easton, Pa., while her father was an instructor for the Air Force during World War II. She grew up first in Cornwall, N.Y., then in Montgomery, N.Y., where she graduated from what became Valley Central High School in 1961. After high school she attended Vassar Brothers School of Nursing, then Syracuse University School of Nursing, graduating with a Bachelors of Nursing in 1968. She worked as a nurse at hospitals in New York, then at Cranford Hall Nursing Home, Fair Oaks Hospital, then taught nursing for the State of New Jersey before retiring in 2016.
In 1969, she married Thomas Jacks, welcoming son Christopher and daughter Anne Marie in Norwich, N.Y. Lynne enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, going to the beach, and was a member of the First Congregational Church since moving to Westfield.
Lynne is survived by her husband, Thomas Jacks; her children, Chris (Stephanie) and Anne Marie (Robert), and her brothers, Steve (Patty) and Fred (Vicki). She also is survived by her granddaughters, Natalie and Megan Jacks, and grandsons, Zachary and Malcolm Saguisag, and special friend, Mario Cocchiola. Friends can visit Lynne’s family at the First Congregational Church of Westfield on Monday, July 8, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., followed by a service celebrating Lynne’s life. A graveside service will take place on Tuesday, July 9, at Riverside Cemetery in Montgomery, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to these organizations: First Congregational Church of Westfield: Ways to Give — First Congregational Church of Westfield (fccofwestfield.org).
American Society of Hematology: ASH Foundation-Hematology.org.
July 4, 2024