Carrie Jo Hines put up a valiant fight for over a year but lost her battle with liver and colon cancer on Feb. 7, 2020, in Clarkston. She was only 47 years old.
She was born on April 29, 1972, to Tom and Judy Hines in Seattle. She completed kindergarten there and then moved to Clarkston, where she graduated in 1990. Carrie Jo attended LCSC for two years and then transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
Carrie Jo was a stubborn spitfire. Funny stories abound but the funniest was when she hit her best friend, Sonya Wilcox, over the head with a Barbie doll. We joked about that to the end.
Carrie Jo enjoyed acting in the Lewiston Civic Theater. She was in many performances that included both singing and dancing, such as "Evita." One memorable performance was when she played Marti in "Grease." Afterward, our mother mentioned that she sure looked like she knew what she was doing while smoking those cigarettes on stage. Indeed she did.
She moved to Seattle in 1992 and worked at the Space Needle restaurant, as well as teaching ballroom dance while earning her bachelor's degree. She began working at Lynden Air Freight in 1995 and worked her way up to manager in her 24 years there.
During that time, Carrie Jo married John Hem Jr. on July 1, 2000. They had a beautiful wedding on the Seattle waterfront. They have two children, Sean, 15, and Lacynn, 11. The hardest part of cancer for Carrie Jo was that she didn't want to leave her family behind.
As Carrie Jo said in a Facebook post, our mom had been on a 27 year campaign to move Carrie Jo home from Seattle. Mom got her wish in August when Carrie Jo and her family moved back to Clarkston. Mom will treasure the six months that she had with Carrie Jo being home. Mom is also helping to raise Sean and Lacynn, which she enjoys.
She was preceded in death by her father, Tom Hines; and mother-in-law, Teri Hem.
A special thank you to Carrie Jo's best friends, Sonya Wilcox, Heather Dyer and Torry Lewis for all of their support during this difficult time.
A celebration of life will be held from 4:30–7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Lewiston Community Center.