Personal Name: Carrie Nadine Jorgensen (Dillard) passed away 4th of July in Nampa ID Cause of Death: Cancer Parents: Jack Dillard and Nadine Baker (Shaw) Siblings: Older Sister to one younger brother.

Carrie was born in Emmett ID, though she moved around quite a bit as both a child and as a young adult. Nonetheless, she's always called the Treasure Valley home.

She was an adventurous and inquisitive child, never really a girly girl--instead insatiably curious about the natural world. She loved living in the country (back when Boise was mostly fields) and learning about the many animals that at one time or another lived on one family property or the other (cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, roosters, dogs and cats). She had a soft spot for the beauty, grace (and let's be honest) shock value, of the creepiest crawliest of God's creatures. Much to the chagrin of her mother she loved to keep spiders in milk cartons hung from her bedroom ceiling and famously re-purposed a baby-doll buggy as a bedside lizard menagerie until her mom, Nadine, found it and made her take it outside.

Her and her baby brother Wayne, fought hard, and equally fought hard for each other, even at their most contentious. As adults they have stayed close both in proximity: whether in Northern California or Southern Idaho and as friends and supports for each other and each other's children. Carrie frequently cared for Wayne's oldest son, Chad, as her own. Carrie's oldest daughter Bianca and Wayne's oldest Chad are just 12 months (minus one day) apart in age and grew up more as siblings than cousins.

In high school Carrie excelled in all of her creative endeavors: visual art, sculpture, drama and choir. Her beautiful voice, and her flare for the dramatic have served her well and endeared her to many throughout her life. She sang in LDS singles adult choirs in Boise and Northern California. Mom's flare for the dramatic shows up in her sense of humor and her ability to command an audience with a fantastic story. Her keen storytelling chops are matched, perhaps, only by the richness of her life experience.

She's worked too many jobs to count: fueled in part by her need as a single mother to provide for her family (and work multiple jobs at once, especially as a young mother), but also by her curiosity, versatility, and a bit of work-related wanderlust (or is that ADHD?). No matter the job her passion was always meeting new people and caring for them. Her titles have included, but are by no means limited to: CNA, Dental Hygienist, home daycare provider, massage therapist, phlebotomist, Medical Assistant, activities coordinator, manager, and home health worker. She even worked in a fishing pole factory for, like, two whole days!

While she always needed to work, she chose to be a mother. Carrie was blessed with four children. Bianca is her oldest, Carrie had her when she was a young and wild woman. Later when Bianca was in high school and Carrie was a more seasoned wild woman she was blessed with Broc, then 11 months later the twins, Lydia and Valerie. Her children have always been her heart, greatest joy and accomplishment and also, let's be honest, a bit of a handful. The households were alive with plenty of shenanigans. Broc, Lydia and Valerie remember the famous "Fruit Ninja" incident where the online game was brought to life in moms kitchen! It went like this, Val caught Lydia throwing real fruit for Broc to try and slice with a chef knife! Wild and Messy! Even, quiet, only child at the time, Bianca got into trouble when she orchestrated an elaborate "break-in" into moms room to watch afternoon tv. Carrie took a whole afternoon off work to hide in the closet to catch her in the act! While Bianca remembers her and mom cleaning and dancing to music their rock and oldies blaring (B52's, The Fix, Patsy Cline & The Everlybrothers) Broc, Lydia and Val remember mom's fondness for the recordings of the church hymnal and the primary children's songbook. Her invocation, "I'm trying to feel the spirit!" was often the only loud part about their communal musical experiences as kids. In the last couple of years still another musical change has occurred with Val introducing her to some of her favorite contemporary artists. They have vinyl listening parties, in the home they've shared for the last several years.

As a mother, Carrie loves her children fiercely and told everyone she met how proud she is of each of them. All she ever aspired to be was a mother and her only real wish at the end of her life was to be able to spend more time with her children and loved ones. She yearned for more time to be with them, to be a part of more of their milestones, to comfort them in trouble, and celebrate with them in their triumphs. Carrie was blessed with four pretty cool humans to raise, and one pretty great human by marriage, Megan Jablonski--they are all turning out pretty fantastically. It took one strong lady and a whole village to raise her beloved children. The kids' grandmothers Nadine and Virginia were an important part of her parenting support system along with those families, and you know who you are, that became family as they looked and continue to look out for The Jorgensen/Dillard brood. Something that stands out to her children is how deeply she loved them as evidenced by how hard she always worked to improve herself as a mother and a person.

Carrie has always been both a lover and a fighter. She's overcome so much in her relatively short life. She got by with little monetarily, with a whole lot of tenacity, humor and grit. One of her proudest accomplishments is her sobriety. Motherhood was her motivation and her guiding light for getting and staying sober for 35 years.

As she was finding her way as a young mother and newly sober person she also found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She joined the church when she was 29 and has been a faithful member ever since. Her participation has given her strength, comfort, community and a relationship with the divine. Her testimony of Christ has given her peace and hope through the many battles in her life including her battle with cancer. She was a Meridian Temple ordinance worker.

Carrie has always been a fierce friend with a big colorful personality. She was no-nonsense, quick to laugh, always ready with a story, a compliment, or some unsolicited advice (often advice that was wise and hard won).

Carrie was and is loved. She was blessed with a wonderful community because she was a dedicated friend and a sturdy community member. She knew her mind and voiced it. Often loudly. She often said she was, "blessed with projection" this included how loudly she loved you. When you were her friend you were her family.

She is survived by: Children: Bianca Dillard, Broc Jorgensen, Lydia & Megan Jablonski, Valerie Jorgensen, Mother: Nadine Baker, Brother: Wayne Dillard and beloved pet companions Max and Picard.

Parents: Nadine Baker (Shaw) & Jack Dillard

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Carrie will be held on Saturday, July 12th at 1:00 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 121 N. Canyon Street in Nampa, Idaho.

In lieu of flowers a fund has been set up to alleviate family travel and other significant upcoming costs. (Please send cash, checks to Jenni and Brian Preece venmo @jenni-preece.)