Jamie Rebecca Hallberg
Jamie Hallberg Obituary
Jamie Rebecca Hallberg, 32, born in Palmer, Alaska on October 1, 1987, died September 17, 2020 in Washington County, Minnesota.
Jamie was an only-child raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. Born in October, Jamie first snowmachined up to the Salcha River to the family cabin when she was 6 months old, riding insider her father’s jacket. Jamie continued traveling to the family cabin by snowmachine or river boat throughout her life in Alaska. She learned to build one-match fires, fly fish, shoot a rifle, row a boat, roast the perfect marshmallow, build a sand castle, collect frog eggs, stack firewood and do many other cabin activities. She enjoyed the tire swing piloted tirelessly by her dad, and played countless games of Clue and other board and card games with her mom. She got to go moose hunting and provided several grouse for family dinners.
Her youth sports included basketball, soccer, gymnastics, slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball. Jamie volunteered at the Fairbanks Animal Shelter and for various youth activities.
In 6th grade, Jamie traveled to Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, D.C. There were about 40 Fairbanks 6th graders on the airplane flying east. Toward the end of a very long day of flying, the pilot made an announcement about their good behavior which drew the applause of the passengers.
In 2000, Jamie was invited to be a People to People delegate to Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. She enjoyed the cultures, foods and friendships she made.
In 2005, Jamie joined her parents for the national ALS advocacy conference in Washington, D.C., the year her father was diagnosed with ALS. It was a bittersweet time learning about ALS, meeting others with ALS, and visiting the national monuments.
Earning a journalism scholarship, she spent another week in Washington, D.C. interacting with both print and television news agencies and being on the set for a Meet the Press broadcast. Jamie graduated from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2006.
In 2010, she did a study-abroad and spent the spring semester at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Jamie did manage to earn college credits, despite attending a production at the Sydney Opera House, learning to scuba dive, bungee jumping, parasailing, skydiving, zip lining, Zorbing and traveling through New Zealand’s north island. At the end of the semester, joined her mom, she spent a month traveling throughout Australia and Tasmania experiencing many unusual animals and wonderful sites, sounds and tastes!
She earned a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and taught elementary school in Alaska, Washington and Wisconsin. Jamie was currently employed as a Youth Development Specialist at Northwest Passage, a residential treatment facility of teenage youth. She had recently resumed working on her Master’s Degree. Her special interests included reading, music, movies, trivia and all things outdoors.
After the death of her father Jerry in 2007, Jamie and her mom shared many cherished annual mother/daughter trips to Florida, Wisconsin, Mexico, Australia, New York, Washington, Oregon, the Yukon and Alaska, and their final trip was last month kayaking the sea of caves of Lake Superior.
In September 2019, Jamie moved to Wisconsin to experience the joy of being closer to family. During the winter, she met a special love and was committed to a developing relationship with Marshall Stark. During winter 2020, weekend family dinners with board and card games were the norm and in the summer it switched to kayaking, disc golfing, biking and hiking with Marshall and her much loved dog Athena. Athena died with Jamie.
Jamie was preceded in death by her father Jerry Hallberg, grandparents, Clarence and Helen Hallberg, and grandfather Earl J. Spaulding.
She is survived by her mother Pam Hallberg; grandmother Arlene Spaulding; uncles: David Spaulding, Stu Hallberg, Gene Hallberg and Tom (Bonnie) Hallberg; aunt Pat (Gordy) Peterson, special love Marshall Stark, dozens of cousins, friends from everywhere she lived and her special Alaskan ‘family of friends.’
God did not give Jamie a long life but she put a lot of love and a lot of living in her life.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to: The Humane Society of Burnett County, PO Box 621, Webster, WI 54893 or online at www.hsburnettcty.org Jamie’s name in the comment section will assure the donation is acknowledged.
A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, September 25, 2020 at the Holy Trinity United Methodist Church, 1606 165th Avenue, Centuria, WI 54824. Service will be at 7:00 P.M. and visitation will begin at 6:00 P.M.
The Kolstad Family Funeral Home of Centuria has been entrusted with arrangements.
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