Jackie Kulkarni

Jackie Kulkarni was a friend of mine since the 1990’s, and I met her first through a remarkable organisation called the “Women’s Indoor Lifeboat Team;.” The idea was that if a member expected a boring evening out, another member would ring at a pre-arranged time to announce that there was an emergency, and that the recipient of the call must come at once to save the day. I don’t think any of us actually did it, but the idea was brilliant! When the “Women’s Indoor Lifeboat Team” came to an end, Jackie and I continued to meet through WILPF. Our most recent local action, since October 2023 when war broke out in Gaza, has been to keep a weekly vigil, as Women in Black, at the War Memorial on Fridays, and Jackie would be with us as often as she could. After our weekly vigil, we repair to a local cafe for tea, and Jackie would manoeuvre her wheelchair to join us.

Despite her disability, Jackie continued to contribute so much to WILPF, and to the Friends’ Meeting House. She will be remembered with love, and with admiration for the way she held to her principles, and acted upon them as best she could, to the very end of her life.

Jackie will be sorely missed by her family and by her numerous friends, with love and admiration for her stalwart principles, and for her generous participation, to the very end of her life.