PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jacqueline Sue Korbet became an angel on March 22, 2023, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz. due to respiratory failure. She was 39 years old. She had her family by her side.

She was born Dec. 22, 1983, in Portland. Jackie grew up in Sidney and loved outdoor sports. She started kayaking Maine streams at 16. She was inspired to explore by an untamed spirit of adventure like Lewis and Clark.

She graduated from Messalonskee High in 2002, attended the University of Maine Orono. In the summer of 2003, she became a Registered Maine White Water Rafting Guide on both the Dead River and Kennebec River in Maine. Jackie was accepted into the student exchange program in her sophomore year with Ft. Lewis College, Durango, Colo. So, in 2003 she left for Colorado in her Toyota Tercel with her skis, mountain bike and kayak on the roof.

She fell in love with the Rockies, and this is when she started her first career. She spent the better part of her youth chasing rivers, absorbing the infinite beauty and knowledge the world offers. She was a certified raft guide on many rivers like Hells Canyon, Snake River; Middle Fork, Salmon River; and Madison River; just to name a few. She traveled from Alaska in 2009 to the Southern Patagonia Alps in 2010.

Jackie became a professional ski patroller and dog handler while working at Big Sky, Mont. She also received her EMT certificate in 2006 and again in 2010. Jackie and her dog, Atlas, were professional certified Avalanche Rescue and was Wilderness Search and Rescue in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

She continued with her degree with a major in outdoor sport management. In 2015 a rattle snake bite almost took her life. This is when she changed her major so she could pursue a career as a physician assistant. Jackie graduated with honors from Montana State University 2017 with a B.S. Degree in Microbiology.

In 2019 she was accepted to Rocky Mountain College, in Billings, Mont. for a master’s degree in physician assistant. While waiting for her acceptance she became the first woman licensed fly-fishing guide in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

She went to several different states doing her rotations during Covid. This included Maine. In Brunswick she worked in the ER at Mid Coast Hospital and in Portland worked at Maine Medical Center. She then graduated from Rocky Mountain College with her master’s degree as a physician assistant in August 2021.

Jackie started her second career as an emergency room physician assistant at Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott and Prescott Valley, Ariz. She loved her job and was incredibly good at it. She made numerous new friends that absolutely loved her dearly. She always had a positive attitude and would be able to lift your spirits with just a few words or a smile and a hug. Once you met her you felt like you had known her forever, like an old friend. She had such an inner peace that a lot of people strive for but can never find. Jackie had the ability to capture the beauty in the world and did so in many pictures and her artwork. She is and will be sadly missed by all and someday soon we will meet again.

Jackie would say; “Enjoy your life to the fullest. I did!”

She is survived by her parents, Stephen and Sue Korbet of Sidney; brothers Matthew of Cape Canaveral, Fla., Gregory of Topsham, and Jon of Sidney, sisters-in-law; two nieces, four nephews; six aunts, five uncles; and 17 cousins. She also leaves her longtime friend who she loved very much, Hayes Buxton of McAlister, Mont., who is now caretaker of her beloved puppy, Bodhi.

For more pictures of her extraordinary life, visit:  share.photocircleapp.com/album/DM3CDYHKW7.

There will be a celebration of her life at a later date.

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