Whistler – A longtime Whistlerite whom friends described a person who “exudes light” and “who would do anything for anybody” died in an airplane crash in Australia last week.
Jacalyne Sherlock, who had just moved from Whistler back to Australia about a month ago, was on her way from Melbourne to the coastal town of Port Macquarie on Saturday (Nov. 8) when the plane in which she and three others were riding went down near the community of Bathurst, west of Sydney.
All four people aboard the aircraft, including a child, were killed, according to a report about the crash in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Piper Navajo PA-31 airplane, which can carry six, was registered to Timothy O’Brien of Beaumaris, near Melbourne, the Herald reported.
Whistlerite Johnny Oliver, who dated Sherlock for six years ending in 2001, said Sherlock had recently sold her home in Tamarisk and had moved back to Australia. She had been “hanging out” with O’Brien, whom Oliver described as an old friend of Sherlock’s. Another Sherlock friend, Kim Gannon, said O’Brien was also a frequent visitor to Whistler over the past several years.
Gannon described Sherlock, 41, as her best friend. She said Sherlock was a free spirit who traveled extensively, was a “healer” and had both a Masters degree in Kinesiology and a deep interest in and knack for spiritual-type healing.
“She’s been living in Whistler on and off since 1994,” Gannon said. “She teaches skiing and is a personal trainer and healer.
“She just exudes light and blessings and is just very… she heals everything that she touches,” Gannon said.
Sherlock was always keenly interested in staying physically fit and had competed in many triathlons, Gannon said. She was going to Port Macquarie to compete in a half-Ironman event, she said.
“She was totally into triathlons and fitness and that whole thing,” Oliver said. “She didn’t drink alcohol or anything like that.”
Gannon said that one time, a friend who was in Germany asked for help with his training. Sherlock flew over to Germany to help out, she said. She also spent a lot of time in Mexico, Gannon said.
“She’s very kind of ‘Go with the flow,’” Gannon said.
Said Oliver, “She’d do anything for anybody. If they didn’t have any money to pay, she’d do whatever she could. That was it. That was her.”
Oliver said most of Sherlock’s family lived in Australia. However, he said, her father — whom he described as a man who worked on passenger ships and was also a professional Santa Claus — lived in Victoria before he died about a year ago.
In spite of her sadness over Sherlock’s sudden death, Gannon said, “She was at a really good place in her life. She was very happy.”
A memorial for Sherlock is planned sometime in December, Oliver said.
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There has been a facebook group called "A Life of Grace" started where Jacalyne's friends can post their thoughts and photos. Please Join.
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November 14, 2008 @ 12:28 pm PST