Jessica Nells-Hollis Simpson

Jessica Nell-Hollis Simpson was born on June 10, 1976 in Boulder, Colorado. The first four years of her life were spent in a log house at the top of Boulder Canyon, Magnolia Star Route.  In Colorado she was introduced to horses, riding with her mother in the high country.  Horses stuck with her.

However by age four she was living aboard Sailing Vessel Columbine sailing from Friday Harbor to San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta ,and Honolulu Hawaii where she celebrated her 5th birthday at the Hawaii Yacht Club moorage picnic tables.  Columbine took her and family back to Friday Harbor, WA in August of 1981.

She made it back to Friday Harbor just in time for the first day of Kindergarten.  13 years later in 1994 she graduated from Friday Harbor High School.  Jessica was a good student and was active in horse 4H.  She loved competing in the county fair where she accumulated many ribbons, trophies, awards and scholarships.  Through 4H she became a guide and riding instructor for those following her.

Jessica had a passionate love of all animals, but especially horses, cats and dogs.  As a toddler she carried a small pail filled with grain out to horses at her home.  At age 11 she shared a horse with her best friend, Anna.  Then, came the horse love of her life, Komo Kitty.  She rode her in fields and on beaches on San Juan Island, in the San Juan County Fair, in any arena she could find and island parades.  They were a beautiful pair.  There were other horses after Kitty, but none equaled the team they made together.  She was a passionate equestrian.  One of her proudest achievements when she was 17 was to ride her horse in the Jr. World Quarter Horse Show in Dallas, TX after fundraising to participate in the event.

After graduating high school Jessica attended Sweet Briar College in Lynchburg, VA for her freshman year.  Jessica found east coast life was not to her liking and transferred to Washington State University in Pullman where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Sciences & Psychology in 1999.  With a passionate interest in science and medicine she continued her education at the University of Washington where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 2004.  Jessica worked as a Registered Nurse on the pediatric floor at Group Health (now known as Kaiser Permanente) until 2008.  Jessica had found her passion for pediatric care and continued in her medical studies and attended the University of Washington where she earned her Masters Degree in Nursing as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in 2009.

Jessica practiced as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Tacoma, WA until she became too ill to continue to treat patients in a clinic setting.  In 2009 she became a Nursing Instructor for the University of Washington School of Nursing, and then in 2011 she taught nursing for Bellevue College and in 2013 she taught nursing at Shoreline Community College.  In December of 2018 she was granted tenure and a permanent staff position at Shoreline Community College.  Jessica was a brilliant diagnostician with an encyclopedic knowledge of medical procedures and treatments.  Later, when her health deteriorated, she continued teaching and tutoring nursing students on line.

She is survived by her long time supportive friend, caregiver and sister Pamela Wetmore, who assisted her through more than a decade of increasingly difficult health challenges.  Survived also by her faithful and loyal service dog, Suna (who visited her often in the hospital), parents, Nan and Steve Simpson of Friday Harbor, WA, Godmother Nancy Jane Cope, Seattle, WA, Cousins: Kathy Rich Neelon (Michael), New York, Rob Rich (Lynn)  Buffalo, NY,  Amberly Simpson-Brandt (Joseph)  Louisville, KY, Andrew Simpson, Palmdale, CA, and Aunt Robin Ward Ribero (Martin), Palmdale, CA, birth father Ron Hollis and his wife Pamela, Colorado.

Preceding her in death: Aunt: Mary Yates Rich, Uncles: Robert D. Simpson, Friday Harbor, WA., John D. Simpson, Moro Bay, CA, Grandmothers: Bobbie Simpson, Friday Harbor, WA, Lyleth Jensen Yates, Friday Harbor, WA., Grandfathers: Floyd Simpson, CA., Tom L. Yates, Lake Forest, Ill.

There will be a Celebration of Life February 7, 2026 at 11:00am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  A graveside memorial will be held in Friday Harbor, WA at a later date.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

102 North 132nd Street

Seattle, WA 98133

The service will also be broadcast at the Zoom link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87586201656

 

Memorial Gifts may be made in Memory of Jessica Nell-Hollis Simpson:

Children’s Hospital Seattle

Stanley Stamm Summer Camp – MS CH 88

4800 Sand Point Way NE

Seattle, WA 98105 or on-line give.seattlechildrens.org

San Juan County 4-H Leader’s Council

C/o WSU Extension Office

221 Weber Way – Suite LL

Friday Harbor, WA 98250

Or a Charity of your choice