Memorial Service Held for ‘Jack’ King

“She touched the lives of many.”

The words were written on a cut-out of a hand amid sticky notes with hundreds of messages from Canton High School students for the late Jaclyn King. Posted after the English teacher’s death, the entire door greeted visitors to King’s Memorial Service. 

In the sanctuary of Calvary Chapel in Uncasville, Pastor Joseph Paskewich continued the theme Saturday morning, just two days before King would have turned 26. She was killed in a car crash in Middletown May 8 after visiting her mother in Waterford.  

“She was a creative soul,” Paskewich said. “I can’t imagine you met anyone quite like her.”

And despite the crowded conditions, with hundreds in attendance, he urged attendees to get up, walk around, touch the large lip-shaped headboard she made, go to the lobby and pick up her favorite books and smell them, feel the fabric of the clothes she made, read the quotes on the walls and soak in the life that was King’s.

No one would leave the chapel without being touched by Jesus or “Jacki,”  he said.

“We’re going to learn from her,” he said.

Those at the chapel Saturday, May 14, saw much from King’s life. Those clothes, writings, and other personal items from the late teacher many in Canton just called “Jack” or Ms. King, greeted visitors.   

In the sanctuary, two large screens flashed pictures of her as Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” filled the loudspeakers as people came in. Later, the screens were filled with King’s own photos of architecture, snow-covered landscapes, dogs and more as “Blessings” by Laura Story was played. Attendees left to the The Beatles “In My Life.” 

Paskewich had many other words for the woman he called Jacki, and talked about her life, love of philosophers, including Jesus, and more. But his speech came in short segments, at the beginning of the service and in between other speakers and performers. 

Included was a performance by Canton High School’s Chamber Singers and remarks from two of her fellow teachers.

English Department chairwoman Eva Schilling recalled the confident, creative, unconventional approach to teaching.

“It was like seeing a woman and child all wrapped up in one teacher,” Schilling said.

When King came for her interview at the school, she had a feather in her hair.

Schilling said it further signaled that King was not your normal teacher, something she knew the first time she met her.

Schilling said she thought, “This is good. This is organic. This is different. This is what Canton needs.”

She also talked about how King wanted to be called Jack, after her grandfather, a man who liked to gamble.

And with her way of bringing Freud, Scandinavian myths and Marxist philosophy into the classroom, King did just that.

"Theories most frequently used include feminist, Marxist, and post-colonial literary theories which help young people become discerning consumers of media and traditional literature,” King’s school Web page states. 

And she had a way of getting her students to do more than they ever thought possible, Schilling said. 

“It’s rare when a young teacher with such inspiration and hopefulness comes into your midst,” Schilling said.

She also used sticky notes for everything, including on her students' desks to surprise them with assignments.

“After all, class can’t be safe, because life isn’t safe,” Schilling said.

Melissa Cook, special education teacher and coordinator of Canton Academy, an alternative education program, read quotes from numerous students who described King’s attributes of style, relevance, wisdom, hard work and unconventional teaching.

"Jack, you should know you made an incredible difference in our students’ lives,” Cook said.

Senior Hannah Bernhard, who sang with the Chamber Singers, said the service fit King’s personality.

“I think it was really powerful,” said senior Hannah Bernhard. “It really spoke to her.”

“I’m glad we got to be part of it,” added senior Tori Biondo,who said she knew King best because she helped with hair and makeup for school productions.  

Many students say King changed their lives and in that Chapel’s lobby were some of King’s own philosophies. 

On one card was her quote, “The world has changed because people have taken adjectives and turned them into nouns.” 

Memorial Contributions can be made to: 

The Jaclyn King Memorial Scholarship
Conway & Londregan
38 Huntington St.
New London, CT  06320