Jacqui Close

I’m really sorry and shocked to hear that Jacqui is no longer with us. Jacqui was an excellent dissertation supervisor in my final year of university and was always full of warmth, guidance and compassion. If you ever had a problem, Jacqui was an expert at making you feel at ease and supporting you to solve it. She was a wonderful, intelligent person with a brilliant sense of humour and a strong sense of justice. She will be very missed.

If there was ever an upside to the hole-in-the-wall we called the staff kitchen, it was the joy of early morning chats with Jacqui. Forever the early birds, we’d share top tips on the best places to legally park and set the world to rights over a coffee. Jacqui was a calming, warm and caring colleague who made the world a better place. I first knew Jacqui as an outstanding undergraduate student, and watched her blossom through postgraduate and doctoral studies, and then flourish as an academic colleague and a dedicated teacher. Jacqui was a high calibre scholar, diligent and committed to the discipline, and a consummate professional - always a safe pair of hands for the everyday as well as the extraordinary challenges which academic life can bring. There will be countless students who will reflect on their time at Newcastle, and will remember Jacqui with great fondness, and with love. Jacqui always had a listening ear, a good joke, and spare biscuits! Jacqui made a difference, she brightened our lives, and she will be missed. My thoughts are with Jacqui’s family and friends at this very sad time.

I first met Jacqui many years ago on the phone. I was undergraduate Admissions Officer. It was the pressure-cooker of August Clearing day, and she was looking to change career by reading for a degree in Sociology. I have never forgotten our conversation that day, and I am so glad I offered her a place. Jacqui was one of our finest students ever. It was wonderful to see her thrive at her studies, and go on to earn her doctorate with a well-deserved funded studentship. Over time as she built her career at Newcastle, she became no longer a student but a dear colleague. I feel so fortunate to have worked with Jacqui, and to have learned so much from her over the years. She had rare and precious attributes: her generosity of spirit; her kind heartedness; her calm, measured presence in times of anxiety; she was effortlessly compassionate and unnecessarily modest. She had a strong moral compass, and a brilliant sense of humour. I will miss her in so many ways, not least when coming in early to the office and seeing the welcoming light already on in her office, or walking with her to staff meetings, or having a chat about something delicate that needs careful working through. Jacqui, you are irreplaceable. We will never forget you.

Jacqui was such a kind colleague and a real joy to work with – always smiling. I always looked forward to a visit from Jacqui in to the School office - there was always non-work chat which is always welcome at work - most recently I recall us chatting about a trip she'd taken to New York some years ago with her sister and how much she thoroughly enjoyed that trip. My heartfelt condolences are with Jacqui's family and friends, I really am so sorry for your loss.

Thank you Jacqui for your guidance and warmth during our time working on EDI and workload matters together. The impact you have had on our school is lasting and important, with the school a better and more welcoming place for some of your initiatives. You were immensely generous with your time, especially as you handed over your role to me, and I learnt a lot from you. You'll be incredibly missed, and our thoughts are with all your family at this time.

Jacqui was a generous, wise and deeply caring colleague, who made the school a better place. She is and will be missed.

I had the privilege of getting to know Jacqui through our work on the School Education Committee. She was a wonderful colleague - always supportive and kind, and always looking for ways to make life easier for all of us rather than pursuing her own agenda. Working alongside her was truly one of the highlights of being part of the committee. I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to her family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.

Jacqui was very helpful to my settling in as an international student at the university. Her selflessness and kind words are very much alive in my mind; thank you for not holding back your helping hand when you could. I miss you