Obituary of Jan Marie McAlister

None Jan Marie (Wolfe) McAlister, 57, of Olympia, Washington, died Tuesday, January 30th, at home with her family following a lengthy and courageous battle with leukemia. Born May 3, 1949, in Corvallis, Oregon, Jan was the third of five children born to Bette (Polinsky) and Jerry Wolfe. She graduated from Corvallis High School in 1967, then attended Phagan’s Beauty College and started her career as a beautician, which she practiced steadily over the next twenty years. She took a bit of time off, in 1976, to marry Richard McAlister of Corvallis, where they continued to live, work and start a family. In 1980, Jan and her family (two daughters, soon to be three) moved a bit north to Hillsboro, Oregon, where after a few more years as a beautician, Jan assumed the full-time role of house mom for her husband and three daughters. Then, in 1996, she moved with her family still a bit further north to Olympia, Washington where she saw her children off to college and “retired”. Far and away, Jan’s biggest joy in life was the time spent with her family. She was not only a devoted and loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt; she was actually good at it. Later in her life, she also immersed herself in gardening, water aerobics, traveling with her husband, and boat rides on Ward Lake. Anyone would tell you that Jan never went anywhere without making a new friend. She had a wonderful ability to make everyone around her feel important, loved and happy, just by taking the time to listen, and to help when needed. Throughout her life, Jan was an avid volunteer. Among her proudest accomplishments, she supported the Hillsboro Swim Team, co-founded the Minter Bridge Elementary School Clothing Bank, and worked at St. Vincent de Paul in both Olympia and Aloha. More recently, she joined the Friendly Flower Garden Club and was instrumental to the revitalization of the State Capital Museum’s Pioneer Herb Garden. Jan is survived by her husband of 31 years, Richard McAlister; her mother, Bette Wolfe of Corvallis, Oregon; her oldest daughter and son-in-law, Sara and Anthony Krieger of Pakenham, Australia; her middle daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Daniel Smith of Kirkland, Washington; her youngest daughter, Ashley McAlister of Olympia, Washington; her son and daughter-in-law, Todd and Connie Jonas of Cheyenne, Wyoming; her sisters Trudy (Wolfe) Fuller of Corvallis, Oregon and Julie (Wolfe) Hamilton of Renton, Washington; and her brother Ted Wolfe of Bend, Oregon. She is further survived by nieces and nephews and a myriad of other relatives and friends. In addition to her father, Jerry Wolfe, she was preceded in death by her younger brother, Tim Wolfe. All who knew her will miss her greatly, yet are grateful for the wonderful memories and precious times they have spent with her. A memorial service for Jan will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 6th at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 812 Bowker St. SE, Lacey, WA 98503. Following the service, there will be a gathering at the church for friends and family to celebrate Jan’s life and share memories. In anticipation of this event, Jan asked that any remembrances be sent to the Pete Gross House or Family Assistance Fund at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, (800) 279-1618, which she watched provide vital support to patients and families while undergoing cancer treatment there.