Obituary: Jane Nelson MacKinnon

Surrounded by her family, Jane Nelson MacKinnon, age 102 years, died in Juneau on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at the Juneau Pioneers Home where she had resided for eight years. Jane continued a legacy of longevity established with her mother and her grandmother who both lived to be over 100 years of age.

Jane Nelson MacKinnon, 1924-2026 (Photo courtesy University of Alaska Alumni 2017 centennial edition “Aurora,” Class of 1947.)

Jane was born in Seattle in 1924 to Olive and Harry Nelson, an airframe and engine mechanic for the airline industry. By the time she was ten years old, her father’s work as a flying service operator had taken the family to Nome. Unfortunately, within six months of the Nelson family’s arrival the historic gold mining town caught fire and burned, destroying much of the town in 1934 including the family’s home and business office. The Nelsons lived in shared quarters until a Sears Roebuck kit home arrived on the last boat before freeze-up. It was rapidly assembled for the Nelsons to occupy by Christmas.

Following Jane’s graduation from Nome High School in 1942, the family moved to Anchorage. She enrolled at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and earned her degree in business administration in 1947. 

While on campus, Jane met fellow student James Simpson “Skip” MacKinnon of Juneau and began a lifelong relationship and marriage, including the birth of their three children: Neil, born in 1949; Kathleen, known as DeeDee, born in 1950, and John born in 1952.

The MacKinnons are among Juneau’s earliest settlers, heirs of the Jaeger family that started laundry service in 1895. The Alaska Steam Laundry, recognizable today in downtown Juneau by its well-known historic turreted two-story building on South Franklin Street, and later expanded to a more modern facility on Shattuck Way. It was there that the three siblings born to Skip and Jane grew up, spending toddler time in a large cloth-lined laundry cart functioning as a playpen while their parents operated the laundry. 

When Skip died in 1982, leaving Jane a widow at age 58, she turned toward caring for others, who like her husband, died from a lingering illness that was eased with hospice care. Jane became a sustaining Hospice and Home Care of Juneau volunteer, attending to people at their end-of-life and consoling their families. Jane was featured in a national hospice association award nomination photo with her friend, co-volunteer and then cancer patient Elsie Osborne as the two shared a moment of mirth despite the difficult time. 

Jane MacKinnon was also active with the Salvation Army, serving on the advisory board as well as other volunteer duties. Her board service extended to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alumni Association and Bartlett Hospital Guild. For 12 years, Jane co-hosted a popular KTOO radio program called “Our Town.”

Her greatest joy was her grandchildren. With five young granddaughters the frequent delight for them was spending the night with Grandma Jane and delving into a trunk full of fancy clothes to play “dress-up.” Jane treated them all to a home-cooked breakfast after the sleepover. Neighborhood children also called her Grandma Jane, except for one little boy who tagged her as Grandma M&M because her supply of the chocolate candies was memorable. Jane was pleased with the toddler-given moniker “Dodo” and being called Grandma by many other children.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband Skip and one grandson. She is survived by her three children and their spouses: Neil and Charity, John and Anna, all of Juneau, and Kathleen “DeeDee” and John Sund of Hollis. Seven grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild carry on her legacy. 

As Jane wished, there will not be a memorial service. Rather, the family will gather privately later in the year. Her cremains will be scattered with other loved ones’ ashes at Hoot ‘n Holler, a remote MacKinnon cabin in Idaho Inlet. Those who wish to remember her with a gift may donate to Juneau Hospice Endowment through the Juneau Community Foundation or to the Salvation Army. 

The MacKinnon family extends their deep appreciation to the Juneau Pioneers’ Home staff, and to her caregivers, who provided exceptional care during the eight years of Jane’s residency and to many friends for their thoughtfulness.