Jacqueline "Jackie" June Young

Jacqueline “Jackie” June Young, founder of SWIMBABES of Oregon and a pioneer in teaching babies to survive in the water, passed away in her home on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the age of 87. She was surrounded by family.

Jackie was born May 14, 1939 in Portland, Oregon to Glenn & June Jordan. Water was in her family long before it was her calling. Her aunt, Gay Lee, ran the Gay Lee School of Swim in the 1940s, Oregon’s first swim school, and Jackie grew up learning from her. In 1969 she carried that legacy forward and created SWIMBABES, building it into far more than a swim school.

Over a career spanning nearly five decades, Jackie became one of the most respected voices in infant water safety anywhere. She created the Infant Swim Survival Safety method along with the SynchroBabies and SynchroTots programs, and in 1979 founded the SWIMBABES Team, known as the world’s youngest swim team, to show families what babies and toddlers could do in the water. She produced some 30 swim shows featuring children from newborns to age three. She shared her knowledge as a speaker in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Japan and beyond, hosted the International Baby Swim Professionals Conference in Portland in 2006, and in 2008 led the SWIMBABES travel team to Nagoya, Japan.

Her work earned wide recognition. She was a charter member of the World Aquatic Babies Congress, which presented her its first Founder’s Award in 2007, received an Education Award in Nagoya in 2000, and was inducted into the Swimming School Hall of Fame in 2009. Through it all she raised money for causes close to children’s hearts, including the Oregon SIDS Project and The Dougy Center.

Her proudest legacy may be the family that carries her work on. In 1982 she brought her daughter Kelley into the business, and Kelley leads SWIMBABES today, now four generations strong. Countless Portland-area families have children who are safer in the water because of Jackie, and many of those children are now bringing their own babies to the pool.

Jackie was preceded in death by her beloved son, Jacob, whom she has now rejoined.

She is survived by her husband, Phil Young; children, Lance Oslund (Amy), Kerry Oslund (Mary Ann), Kelley Robinson (Paul), and Tyler Young (Becky); grandchildren, Lees, Lainnee, Ean, Payton, Taylor, Emma, Josh, Cole, Caroline, and Alex George; and great-grandchildren, Jax, Stella, Lucy, Vivienne.

A celebration of her remarkable life will be held at a date to be announced.