Jacqueline 'Jacki' (Knowski) Bolton (Herring) of Wrightstown passed away Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at home surrounded by her family after a long and courageous battle with ureteral cancer. She was 62. Born in Trenton, N.J., Jacki was a resident of Wrightstown for 17 years (since 1996). She graduated from Hamilton High School West and Mercer County Community College with an Associate in Applied Science degree and continued her education throughout her life. Jacki retired after 21 years from the United States Army Reserve with the rank of SFC (Sergeant First Class) E-7, as well as after 31 years from tje Human Resource department at Mercer County Community College. She was very proud of her longevity in both the military as well as in education, and always liked it to be known that she was initially a member of the WACs (Women's Army Corps) way back in 1968 to 1970, and was proud to be one of the few selected to skip over PFC straight to Specialist Fourth Class. She was fond of calling herself 'Wacky Jacki.' She also served a brief stint at the Pentagon in 1970. While in the USAR, she received many awards and citations, but was most proud of receiving the Soldier of the Year nomination in 1979 to represent her unit, HHC, 78th Division (Training). As a result of her combined 52 years of employment, she was always fond of saying, 'Oh my God! I'm 105 years old!' She was a Vietnam, Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield veteran and held membership in Post 1000 of the American Legion based in Trenton. She loved traveling with friends and family and enjoyed her personal relationships with those closest to her. She especially enjoyed traveling and hanging out with her two closest friends, Helene and Judi, and as a result, they will forever be known as 'The Three Amigos.' They eventually added Jacki's husband to this traveling troupe, and Judi was fond of calling the group 'The Three Amigos Plus One.' Jacki was a selfless and giving person, always willing to lend a hand or financial support wherever justified. She particularly enjoyed the times she spent with her grandchildren at various holiday themed events as well as everyday normal activities. She also enjoyed kidding her daughter, Tracy, who is fond of all the princess paraphernalia by telling her, 'You may be the princess, but I da queen!' Tracy would respond in kind by telling all her stories about how she managed to get her mother into silly situations such as telling her mother about the 'great biggie salad bar at Wendy's' that Wendy's didn't have. One of Jacki's hobbies was plastic canvas. She was always proudest of a two-story Victorian cottage she constructed as her first venture into this crafting field, even though it took her nine months to complete. She was fond of calling it her 'baby' as a result of the amount of time (nine months) it took her to complete it. Jacki's fondness for this craft was evident in the fact that she gave away most of her creations. Another hobby she got into late in life was genealogy. She was able to trace her ancestors back to 1393 with the help of a distant cousin, John Kowal. She was particularly fascinated by two of her grandfathers. Her great grandfather, Samuel Davis Agin, served in the Civil War and missed the bloodiest battle (23,000 killed) at Antietam by just one day and missed the Battle of Gettysburg by several weeks. What fascinated her the most was that if he had been at either one of those battles, he had a good chance of not surviving and his ancestors would not have even been born. Her great-great-great-grandfather (grandfather to Davis Agin), whose name was James Agin, fought in the Revolutionary War alongside George Washington. As a matter of fact, he was a scout for Washington's army during the Battle of Trenton in 1776, and crossed the Delaware several times during that mission. Needless to say, she was very proud of her ancestors. There were even some 'Lairds' (Lords) from Scotland among the direct line mix. Jacki also enjoyed her OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) status, though she was never formally diagnosed with the condition. She was always a perfectionist in everything she did. While still working at Mercer County Community College, her friend, co-worker, and fellow self-admitted OCD activist, Helene Plank and her would refer to themselves as 'anal-ists' while enjoying their lunchtimes together. She was the proud daughter of the late Hermina Loretta Agin Knowski and Stephen Hanyecz; sister of the late Edward John Knowski Jr., Joan Alice Cruz, and Dorothy Mary Turgyan; and aunt of the late Paul William Forker Jr. and Constance Colon. She is survived by her beloved and loving husband of 14 years, John Wayne Herring Sr., who stood by her throughout her ordeal and whom she considered her 'rock;' her beloved daughter, Tracy Lyn Bolton Hardy; her cherished stepdaughter, Cassandra Danelle Smith; stepson, John Wayne Herring Jr.; and adored stepson, Shawn Michael Herring; her greatly loved grandchildren, Kyle Alexander Hardy, Tayla BriAnne Hardy, Lora Danielle Smith, Edward 'Bubby' Smith, and Alexis 'Lexi' Smith; a special niece, Cindy Lou Collazo; special nephew, Eusebio Brito Colon and many other nieces and nephews from Florida, New Jersey and Maryland; brothers and sisters-in-law, Harry Herring (Barbara), Patricia Evans (Edward), William Herring (Deborah), Margaret Rellstab (Robert), as well as special friends Helene and William Plank and Judi Vetovick, with whom she shared many fun adventures. Jacki wanted to share with all a poem she wrote many years ago: Forget-Me-Not The epitaph upon my tomb I wish for all to see For I would have emblazoned there A little piece of me In letters just as big as life I'd like imprinted there ''I lived, I loved, I died, I WAS' And wish someone will care And 'round my grave, I'd wish to place Sky blue forget-me-nots Those flowers with their message clear Remember me a lot. Jacki would also like to acknowledge and thank all her 'chemo-sabe' staff at the Burlington County Hematology-Oncology Associates, P.A., for the three 'Cs' (caring, concern.compassion): in particular, Dr. Alan Penziner; nurses, Susan, Lori and Kathy; lab technician, Chris; receptionists, Sheila and Ginger; and Mari Oresic, her counselor, who helped her work through a great many mental challenges connected with her illness. Also not forgotten are Dr. David Vaughn, his secretary, Maddie, Barbara H. Zoltick, CRNP, Melissa Kirsch, RN, BSN, Kathleen Harlacker, RN, BSN, OCN, all of whom are from the Univ. of Penn and who tried their best. The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16 at Tilghman Funeral Home, 52 Main St., New Egypt. Dr. John D. Grove, Pastor of Columbus Baptist Church, 24260 West Main St., Columbus, will officiate. Interment will follow in Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery, 350 Provinceline Rd., Wrightstown. Family and friends may call 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 15 at the funeral home. She always had a fondness for flowers, particularly roses and blue forget-me-nots. However, due to cemetery restrictions on accepting flowers, she asked that flowers be kept to a minimum and memorial contributions to help wipe out all types of cancer may be made payable to Dr. David Vaughn/Research and mailed to Abramson Cancer Center, Trustee of the Univ. of Penn, 3400 Spruce St., 12th Floor, Penn Tower - Suite 1223, Attn: Amy Kramer, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Memorial contributions may also be made to Columbus Baptist Church, 24269 West Main Street, Columbus, NJ 08022, who contributed to her spiritual sustenance during her very trying ordeal, as well as to Caring Hospice Services, 133-Q Gaither Drive, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054, for their intense and committed care (thanks Cristie Roche, Nurse, and Kanjana Rajaratnam, M.S.W., L.S.W., Social Worker).