Jeff Bezos’ mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, is dead

Jacklyn Gise Bezos, the mother of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has died at the age of 78.

Her death was announced by Bezos on Instagram, revealing that she passed away on Thursday at her Miami home after what he described as “a long fight with Lewy body dementia.”

“She passed away today, surrounded by so many of us who loved her — her kids, grandkids, and my dad,” Bezos wrote. “I know she felt our love in those final moments.”

The Bezos Scholars Program, the foundation she co-founded with her husband, Miguel “Mike” Bezos confirmed her death, noting her tireless dedication to family and philanthropy.

Born in Washington, D.C., Jacklyn became a mother at 17 while still in high school, raising Jeff as a single parent in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She took night school classes while working in a bank during the day, where she met a young Cuban immigrant, Mike Bezos. They married in 1968 and went on to have two more children, Christina and Mark.

The foundation described her as a woman who “poured her heart into raising her children with compassion, patience, and wisdom.”

Lewy body dementia, the illness that claimed her life is a progressive condition that affects memory, movement, and thinking, and is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.

Bezos, in reflecting on his mother’s life, said her adulthood “started early” but she faced every challenge with “relentless determination and love.”