Jeff Bezos' mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, passes away at the age of 78
Jacklyn Gise Bezos, Mother of Amazon Founder, Passes Away at 78
Jacklyn Gise Bezos, the mother of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, passed away in her Miami home on Thursday at the age of 78. The cause of her death has not been disclosed, but it was previously reported that she had been battling Lewy body dementia.
Born in Washington, D.C., Jacklyn Gise Bezos had Jeff Bezos, her first child, when she was just 17 years old. She returned to college as an adult and earned a bachelor of arts degree from Saint Elizabeth University in New Jersey.
Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the second-most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease. It is a progressive brain disorder caused by the buildup of abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies inside brain cells. These deposits disrupt functions related to thinking, behavior, movement, and sleep.
Symptoms of Lewy body dementia include:
- Cognitive symptoms such as confusion, poor attention, problems with visual-spatial processing, and memory loss.
- Neuropsychiatric symptoms including hallucinations (often visual), psychosis, depression, apathy, agitation, and fluctuations in alertness or attention such as long periods of staring or daytime drowsiness.
- Sleep disturbances, particularly REM sleep behavior disorder (acting out dreams), are common and sometimes precede cognitive symptoms.
- Motor symptoms resembling Parkinson’s disease, such as tremors, muscle stiffness, slow movements, and a shuffling walk.
- In late stages, severe mobility difficulties, increased sleep, limited or absent speech, swallowing difficulties, and heightened confusion or disorientation may occur.
LBD arises due to the pathological buildup of α-synuclein protein aggregates, which leads to significant neurodegeneration. The protein buildup in LBD affects widely distributed brain areas, impacting cognition, movement, and neuropsychiatric faculties, leading to a broad and debilitating clinical syndrome.
The Bezos family founded the Bezos Scholars Program in 2005, offering leadership development programs to outstanding students from the United States to Africa. Jacklyn Gise Bezos was deeply involved in the foundation, which was initially started by her and her husband, Mike Bezos.
Jeff Bezos, in a statement, expressed his love and gratitude for his mother. The wedding of Jeff Bezos, which took place just shy of two months before his mother's death, was attended by media mogul Oprah Winfrey, Queen Rania of Jordan, President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, and many other VIPs.
The Bezos family also founded the Bezos Family Foundation in 2000, with a focus on education, homelessness, and conservation.
Our thoughts are with the Bezos family during this difficult time.
- Jacklyn Gise Bezos, a pioneer in education and self-development, earned a bachelor of arts degree from Saint Elizabeth University after being a mother at a young age.
- Health-and-wellness and mental-health concerns played a significant role in Jacklyn Gise Bezos' life, as she fought Lewy body dementia, a type of dementia affecting cognition, behavior, movement, and sleep.
- As a mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos raised her son, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who paid tribute to her with a statement expressing his love and gratitude upon her passing.
- The entertainment world also mourned the loss of Jacklyn Gise Bezos, with several celebrities and figures of pop-culture attending her wedding.
- To honor her legacy, the Bezos Scholars Program, which focuses on leadership development for outstanding students, and the Bezos Family Foundation, which focuses on education, homelessness, and conservation, were founded by the Bezos family.
- Jacklyn Gise Bezos's influence extended to various domains, from women's health to aging, personally growing through returning to college, and making significant contributions in the fields of science, parenting, and personal growth.
