Hospice program organizes a unique visit for horse enthusiast care center resident

Laurene Jae Jackson has packed a lot into her 81 years on the planet.

Growing up, the native Clevelander attended a cowboy school at a dude ranch in Arizona (you read that right: a cowboy school), becoming a skilled horseback rider and entering competitions. In high school, she switched gears and attended a boarding school in New England — a completely different world for a girl who had fallen in love with the culture of the American West. And later in life, she and her growing family experienced adventures from one coast to the other.

On Aug. 21, Crossroads Hospice of Green honored Laurene with an event in the the Anna Marie Care Center of Aurora courtyard. The “Gift of a Day” program event included guests, food, refreshments and plenty of photographs. Organizers even brought in a horse to visit with Laurene, a symbol of the adventurous spirit that has shaped her life’s unique trajectory — which often changed course abruptly.

Laurene and her husband John, a widower with four children, raised their blended family — which included Laurene’s mother Virginia — on a small farm in North Ridgeville. When John retired, they sold the farm, divested themselves of most of their possessions and traveled the country in a van pulling a small trailer.

For the next four years, Laurene and John volunteered for the U.S. National Park Service at several parks on the East Coast – with one stint at Redwood National Park in California.

After John passed away, Laurene bought a trailer in Estero, Florida, where she reconnected with and married her childhood sweetheart, Gary Smith. True to Laurene’s nature, they spent the next several years going on motorcycle adventures together.

Gary passed away in 2017, and Laurene returned to Northeast Ohio following the pandemic.

From coast to coast and everywhere in between, Laurene has never been afraid to live life — and she’s got the adventures to prove it.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the event was organized by Anna Marie Care Center. The celebration was organized and sponsored by Crossroads Hospice of Green.