Salina Journal 14 October 2020
Paula Jacques remembers her mother, Shirley Jacques, as an active woman.
"She didn't sit still much," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques died Oct. 7 at the age of 89, leaving a legacy in Salina, Saline County, the state of Kansas and the nation.
"Shirley provided leadership in a broad area," said former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, who served from 1979 to 1987. "She was really my first campaign manager. We worked out of her basement on W. Republic for a long time."
In those days before modern email and websites, everything had to be handwritten, so it was a lot of work, Carlin said.
"The uniqueness about her is she got people elected," he said, in a county and state where Republicans have the edge.
Jacques was helpful in getting in Josh Svaty elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, among others, Carlin said.
"She had energy and passion for the importance of electing good people," he said. "She was a joy to be with."
Jacques led the Saline County Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012 and also was chair of the Saline County Democratic Women.
"She was the heart and soul of the county Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012," her friend Nancy Hodges said.
"She was good about convincing people to keep running so we'd have a two-party system," Jacques' friend Kaye Crawford said. "She worked all the time trying to make sure we had Democrats on the ticket."
Crawford said she turned Jacques down when she tried to get her to run for the Kansas Legislature, but Crawford did run for Salina City Commission and served as mayor.
Her connection to Jacques goes back to about 1986, she said. She and another friend, Karen Black, continued to meet for lunch with Jacques every four to six weeks until recently.
One of Jacques' passions was human rights, Crawford said, and she was instrumental in founding the city's human relations commission.
Before human rights became a city policy, Jacques and others believed people were discriminated against, Crawford said.
The group met in basements and homes and churches and talked about what was needed, about people who lost jobs.
"They went to the city commission and said we needed a department," Crawford said.
When the commission and department were formed, Jacques served on the human relations commission for many years, Crawford said.
Crawford joined the department as an investigator in 1984, becoming the head of the department in the 1990s and working there for 25 years.
"I admired Shirley a lot for what she did, her intelligence, her integrity. I felt sure (elections) would be run right." Crawford said.
Jacques' intelligence also impressed Sandy Beverly.
"I trusted her heart and I trusted her intelligence," Beverly said, even though they didn't always agree.
Jacques was "always, always, always a civil rights champion and easy to work with," Beverly said.
Beverly worked with Jacques mostly on voter registration drives at Grand Avenue Methodist Church.
"We made food, we invited people in, we had a little concert" to get people to come out, Beverly said.
She remembered when the Ku Klux Klan threatened to hold a parade in Salina in the early 1980s.
Jacques said they had a right to come, a right to free speech. The NAACP put together a "hate manual," Beverly said, with instructions on how to respond and key people, including Jacques, to call for advice.
"She did bring people together with the idea of moving forward," her daughter Kate Jacques said.
That, Beverly said, was the first year the NAACP opened its communitywide picnic to the public.
"The Klan didn't come and we had a celebration anyway," she said.
"She was just always there," Beverly said. "She had that brain. Even if the body fails, they just don't quit. She was a little powerhouse — not that big, but a powerhouse."
Shirley Allison grew up on a farm east of Delphos, in the Hall community, said her daughter Paula Jacques.
The family still owns the original homestead and has homestead papers signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1870s, Paula Jacques said.
Shirley went to Kansas State University for a couple of years, where she met Robert Jacques. They married in 1951 and had three children, Paula, Kate and Brent.
They moved to Salina in 1965. Robert, an engineer, died in 1983.
Kate and Paula said their mother got her political education from joining the League of Women Voters, before becoming interested in partisan politics.
Besides the human rights commission, Shirley also served on several area boards, they said, including aging, human rights, Salvation Army and the Food Bank.
She was active politically statewide and attended Democratic National Conventions in 1984 and 1988, Kate said.
She worked with the Girl Scouts as a leader and also on its board, Paula Jacques said. She was active in the PTA.
"And she had a beautiful garden on West Republic," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques moved to Eagle Crest a couple of years ago and had been ill recently.
"I knew she was going to pass, but I had my fingers crossed she would get to vote," Carlin said, who called her "one of the best friends I had in my entire lifetime."
No services are planned for Shirley Jacques at this time.
"Sometime next summer with a true celebration that we think is fitting for her," Paula Jacques said.
Paula Jacques remembers her mother, Shirley Jacques, as an active woman.
"She didn't sit still much," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques died Oct. 7 at the age of 89, leaving a legacy in Salina, Saline County, the state of Kansas and the nation.
"Shirley provided leadership in a broad area," said former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, who served from 1979 to 1987. "She was really my first campaign manager. We worked out of her basement on W. Republic for a long time."
In those days before modern email and websites, everything had to be handwritten, so it was a lot of work, Carlin said.
"The uniqueness about her is she got people elected," he said, in a county and state where Republicans have the edge.
Jacques was helpful in getting in Josh Svaty elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, among others, Carlin said.
"She had energy and passion for the importance of electing good people," he said. "She was a joy to be with."
Jacques led the Saline County Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012 and also was chair of the Saline County Democratic Women.
"She was the heart and soul of the county Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012," her friend Nancy Hodges said.
"She was good about convincing people to keep running so we'd have a two-party system," Jacques' friend Kaye Crawford said. "She worked all the time trying to make sure we had Democrats on the ticket."
Crawford said she turned Jacques down when she tried to get her to run for the Kansas Legislature, but Crawford did run for Salina City Commission and served as mayor.
Her connection to Jacques goes back to about 1986, she said. She and another friend, Karen Black, continued to meet for lunch with Jacques every four to six weeks until recently.
One of Jacques' passions was human rights, Crawford said, and she was instrumental in founding the city's human relations commission.
Before human rights became a city policy, Jacques and others believed people were discriminated against, Crawford said.
The group met in basements and homes and churches and talked about what was needed, about people who lost jobs.
"They went to the city commission and said we needed a department," Crawford said.
When the commission and department were formed, Jacques served on the human relations commission for many years, Crawford said.
Crawford joined the department as an investigator in 1984, becoming the head of the department in the 1990s and working there for 25 years.
"I admired Shirley a lot for what she did, her intelligence, her integrity. I felt sure (elections) would be run right." Crawford said.
Jacques' intelligence also impressed Sandy Beverly.
"I trusted her heart and I trusted her intelligence," Beverly said, even though they didn't always agree.
Jacques was "always, always, always a civil rights champion and easy to work with," Beverly said.
Beverly worked with Jacques mostly on voter registration drives at Grand Avenue Methodist Church.
"We made food, we invited people in, we had a little concert" to get people to come out, Beverly said.
She remembered when the Ku Klux Klan threatened to hold a parade in Salina in the early 1980s.
Jacques said they had a right to come, a right to free speech. The NAACP put together a "hate manual," Beverly said, with instructions on how to respond and key people, including Jacques, to call for advice.
"She did bring people together with the idea of moving forward," her daughter Kate Jacques said.
That, Beverly said, was the first year the NAACP opened its communitywide picnic to the public.
"The Klan didn't come and we had a celebration anyway," she said.
"She was just always there," Beverly said. "She had that brain. Even if the body fails, they just don't quit. She was a little powerhouse — not that big, but a powerhouse."
Shirley Allison grew up on a farm east of Delphos, in the Hall community, said her daughter Paula Jacques.
The family still owns the original homestead and has homestead papers signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1870s, Paula Jacques said.
Shirley went to Kansas State University for a couple of years, where she met Robert Jacques. They married in 1951 and had three children, Paula, Kate and Brent.
They moved to Salina in 1965. Robert, an engineer, died in 1983.
Kate and Paula said their mother got her political education from joining the League of Women Voters, before becoming interested in partisan politics.
Besides the human rights commission, Shirley also served on several area boards, they said, including aging, human rights, Salvation Army and the Food Bank.
She was active politically statewide and attended Democratic National Conventions in 1984 and 1988, Kate said.
She worked with the Girl Scouts as a leader and also on its board, Paula Jacques said. She was active in the PTA.
"And she had a beautiful garden on West Republic," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques moved to Eagle Crest a couple of years ago and had been ill recently.
"I knew she was going to pass, but I had my fingers crossed she would get to vote," Carlin said, who called her "one of the best friends I had in my entire lifetime."
No services are planned for Shirley Jacques at this time.
"Sometime next summer with a true celebration that we think is fitting for her," Paula Jacques said.
Salina Journal 14 October 2020
Paula Jacques remembers her mother, Shirley Jacques, as an active woman.
"She didn't sit still much," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques died Oct. 7 at the age of 89, leaving a legacy in Salina, Saline County, the state of Kansas and the nation.
"Shirley provided leadership in a broad area," said former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, who served from 1979 to 1987. "She was really my first campaign manager. We worked out of her basement on W. Republic for a long time."
In those days before modern email and websites, everything had to be handwritten, so it was a lot of work, Carlin said.
"The uniqueness about her is she got people elected," he said, in a county and state where Republicans have the edge.
Jacques was helpful in getting in Josh Svaty elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, among others, Carlin said.
"She had energy and passion for the importance of electing good people," he said. "She was a joy to be with."
Jacques led the Saline County Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012 and also was chair of the Saline County Democratic Women.
"She was the heart and soul of the county Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012," her friend Nancy Hodges said.
"She was good about convincing people to keep running so we'd have a two-party system," Jacques' friend Kaye Crawford said. "She worked all the time trying to make sure we had Democrats on the ticket."
Crawford said she turned Jacques down when she tried to get her to run for the Kansas Legislature, but Crawford did run for Salina City Commission and served as mayor.
Her connection to Jacques goes back to about 1986, she said. She and another friend, Karen Black, continued to meet for lunch with Jacques every four to six weeks until recently.
One of Jacques' passions was human rights, Crawford said, and she was instrumental in founding the city's human relations commission.
Before human rights became a city policy, Jacques and others believed people were discriminated against, Crawford said.
The group met in basements and homes and churches and talked about what was needed, about people who lost jobs.
"They went to the city commission and said we needed a department," Crawford said.
When the commission and department were formed, Jacques served on the human relations commission for many years, Crawford said.
Crawford joined the department as an investigator in 1984, becoming the head of the department in the 1990s and working there for 25 years.
"I admired Shirley a lot for what she did, her intelligence, her integrity. I felt sure (elections) would be run right." Crawford said.
Jacques' intelligence also impressed Sandy Beverly.
"I trusted her heart and I trusted her intelligence," Beverly said, even though they didn't always agree.
Jacques was "always, always, always a civil rights champion and easy to work with," Beverly said.
Beverly worked with Jacques mostly on voter registration drives at Grand Avenue Methodist Church.
"We made food, we invited people in, we had a little concert" to get people to come out, Beverly said.
She remembered when the Ku Klux Klan threatened to hold a parade in Salina in the early 1980s.
Jacques said they had a right to come, a right to free speech. The NAACP put together a "hate manual," Beverly said, with instructions on how to respond and key people, including Jacques, to call for advice.
"She did bring people together with the idea of moving forward," her daughter Kate Jacques said.
That, Beverly said, was the first year the NAACP opened its communitywide picnic to the public.
"The Klan didn't come and we had a celebration anyway," she said.
"She was just always there," Beverly said. "She had that brain. Even if the body fails, they just don't quit. She was a little powerhouse — not that big, but a powerhouse."
Shirley Allison grew up on a farm east of Delphos, in the Hall community, said her daughter Paula Jacques.
The family still owns the original homestead and has homestead papers signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1870s, Paula Jacques said.
Shirley went to Kansas State University for a couple of years, where she met Robert Jacques. They married in 1951 and had three children, Paula, Kate and Brent.
They moved to Salina in 1965. Robert, an engineer, died in 1983.
Kate and Paula said their mother got her political education from joining the League of Women Voters, before becoming interested in partisan politics.
Besides the human rights commission, Shirley also served on several area boards, they said, including aging, human rights, Salvation Army and the Food Bank.
She was active politically statewide and attended Democratic National Conventions in 1984 and 1988, Kate said.
She worked with the Girl Scouts as a leader and also on its board, Paula Jacques said. She was active in the PTA.
"And she had a beautiful garden on West Republic," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques moved to Eagle Crest a couple of years ago and had been ill recently.
"I knew she was going to pass, but I had my fingers crossed she would get to vote," Carlin said, who called her "one of the best friends I had in my entire lifetime."
No services are planned for Shirley Jacques at this time.
"Sometime next summer with a true celebration that we think is fitting for her," Paula Jacques said.
Paula Jacques remembers her mother, Shirley Jacques, as an active woman.
"She didn't sit still much," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques died Oct. 7 at the age of 89, leaving a legacy in Salina, Saline County, the state of Kansas and the nation.
"Shirley provided leadership in a broad area," said former Kansas Gov. John Carlin, who served from 1979 to 1987. "She was really my first campaign manager. We worked out of her basement on W. Republic for a long time."
In those days before modern email and websites, everything had to be handwritten, so it was a lot of work, Carlin said.
"The uniqueness about her is she got people elected," he said, in a county and state where Republicans have the edge.
Jacques was helpful in getting in Josh Svaty elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, among others, Carlin said.
"She had energy and passion for the importance of electing good people," he said. "She was a joy to be with."
Jacques led the Saline County Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012 and also was chair of the Saline County Democratic Women.
"She was the heart and soul of the county Democrat Party from 1980 to 2012," her friend Nancy Hodges said.
"She was good about convincing people to keep running so we'd have a two-party system," Jacques' friend Kaye Crawford said. "She worked all the time trying to make sure we had Democrats on the ticket."
Crawford said she turned Jacques down when she tried to get her to run for the Kansas Legislature, but Crawford did run for Salina City Commission and served as mayor.
Her connection to Jacques goes back to about 1986, she said. She and another friend, Karen Black, continued to meet for lunch with Jacques every four to six weeks until recently.
One of Jacques' passions was human rights, Crawford said, and she was instrumental in founding the city's human relations commission.
Before human rights became a city policy, Jacques and others believed people were discriminated against, Crawford said.
The group met in basements and homes and churches and talked about what was needed, about people who lost jobs.
"They went to the city commission and said we needed a department," Crawford said.
When the commission and department were formed, Jacques served on the human relations commission for many years, Crawford said.
Crawford joined the department as an investigator in 1984, becoming the head of the department in the 1990s and working there for 25 years.
"I admired Shirley a lot for what she did, her intelligence, her integrity. I felt sure (elections) would be run right." Crawford said.
Jacques' intelligence also impressed Sandy Beverly.
"I trusted her heart and I trusted her intelligence," Beverly said, even though they didn't always agree.
Jacques was "always, always, always a civil rights champion and easy to work with," Beverly said.
Beverly worked with Jacques mostly on voter registration drives at Grand Avenue Methodist Church.
"We made food, we invited people in, we had a little concert" to get people to come out, Beverly said.
She remembered when the Ku Klux Klan threatened to hold a parade in Salina in the early 1980s.
Jacques said they had a right to come, a right to free speech. The NAACP put together a "hate manual," Beverly said, with instructions on how to respond and key people, including Jacques, to call for advice.
"She did bring people together with the idea of moving forward," her daughter Kate Jacques said.
That, Beverly said, was the first year the NAACP opened its communitywide picnic to the public.
"The Klan didn't come and we had a celebration anyway," she said.
"She was just always there," Beverly said. "She had that brain. Even if the body fails, they just don't quit. She was a little powerhouse — not that big, but a powerhouse."
Shirley Allison grew up on a farm east of Delphos, in the Hall community, said her daughter Paula Jacques.
The family still owns the original homestead and has homestead papers signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1870s, Paula Jacques said.
Shirley went to Kansas State University for a couple of years, where she met Robert Jacques. They married in 1951 and had three children, Paula, Kate and Brent.
They moved to Salina in 1965. Robert, an engineer, died in 1983.
Kate and Paula said their mother got her political education from joining the League of Women Voters, before becoming interested in partisan politics.
Besides the human rights commission, Shirley also served on several area boards, they said, including aging, human rights, Salvation Army and the Food Bank.
She was active politically statewide and attended Democratic National Conventions in 1984 and 1988, Kate said.
She worked with the Girl Scouts as a leader and also on its board, Paula Jacques said. She was active in the PTA.
"And she had a beautiful garden on West Republic," Paula Jacques said.
Shirley Jacques moved to Eagle Crest a couple of years ago and had been ill recently.
"I knew she was going to pass, but I had my fingers crossed she would get to vote," Carlin said, who called her "one of the best friends I had in my entire lifetime."
No services are planned for Shirley Jacques at this time.
"Sometime next summer with a true celebration that we think is fitting for her," Paula Jacques said.
