Jeff Bezos Announces Tragic Personal News

Jeff Bezos’ mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, passed away on Thursday after a lengthy battle with Lewy body dementia, the Amazon founder announced. She was 78 years old.

In a touching Instagram tribute, Bezos announced that his mother passed away peacefully at her Miami home while surrounded by loved ones. “Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17,” the 61-year-old tech entrepreneur wrote alongside a photo of Jacklyn Bezos.

“That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work. She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish,” he continued.

An obituary posted to the “Bezos Scholars Program” remembered Jacklyn, who once raised Jeff as a single mother, as a lifelong educator who focused on children’s minds through the program, which operates in Africa and the United States. “Together, we can change the trajectory of an entire generation,” she wrote, according to the site.

“We are not just building brains — we are building the future. Each of us has a role to play, and it will take all of us to really make a difference.”

Photo: Jeff Bezos via Instagram

Jacklyn Bezos was a founding member of the Bezos Family Foundation, which works to help “young people reach their full potential and meaningfully contribute to society.”

She is survived by her husband, Mike, children Jeff, Christina, and Mark, eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild. The family has asked mourners to support a nonprofit of their choice or to perform a simple act of kindness in Bezos’ memory, the New York Post reported.