Everett, Wash.
Published: Sunday, February 3, 2008

Young woman remembered for adventurous spirit

By Justin Arnold
Herald Writer

 EVERETT -- To those who knew her, Jillian Parker was born in the wrong time. According to her mother, Marsha Parker, Jillian was a modern-day adventurer and free spirit who would have felt more at home in the 1960s.

"Jillian didn't necessarily follow the rules," Marsha Parker said. "She did everything her way. Even when she got ill she absolutely refused to stop doing anything she did before she was sick. She went to concerts, hiked, visited friends. Even at the very end she would talk to friends, even when it was extremely difficult."

Jillian's sister, Amanda Adams, said her sister's love of travel and adventure started early, at age 13.

"Jillian got into camping and started reading books about the outdoors in her teens," Adams said. "She got into the 'hippie' stuff and her interests expanded. She began to get curious about stuff outside her normal universe."

Those interests culminated in an intense wanderlust that propelled her into a journey across the U.S.

According to Marsha Parker, when she was old enough, her daughter set out alone to explore the world to see what it offered.

She crossed the U.S., and joined another group of travelers and wound up driving their van. Those new friends were on a similar personal odyssey, but she had to drive because she was the only one with a license.

"I hope they all had seat belts on," Adams said.

Adams muses that the journey wasn't to try to find America -- rather, Jillian was trying to find herself.

"She was really interested in trying to figure out more about herself. She did it because she could do it," Adams said. "She was able to find out what she was really capable of as a person."

Eventually, Jillian Parker found herself in Hawaii. She lived there for a year, making a living collecting seashells and selling them.

It wasn't until she returned home and was involved in a car accident that she realized she had cancer.

"She was in a car wreck and got an MRI. We found out she had a rare type of cancer called Ewing's sarcoma," Marsha Parker said. "She fought it, but it was a losing battle."

Jillian Parker died at home Jan. 21. She was 23.

She is survived by her parents, Bill and Marsha Parker; her brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Angela Parker; and her sister and brother-in-law, Amanda and Brett Adams.

Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA