Jacqueline (Jackie) Dyer, who lived with her husband and their children in Pacific Palisades at one time, passed away in Venice on May 3 at the age of 75.
Born in Chicago, Dyer grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from Hollywood High School in 1964. She attended UCLA and started a successful career as an Eileen Ford model before becoming controller for motion picture producer Steve Tisch.
Dyer also co-founded a graphic design firm with her husband, Ron Dyer, who created many of the famous album covers for Capitol Records in the 1960s.
In June 1988, on the eve of her graduation from Palisades High, the couple’s 18-year-old daughter Teak Dyer was kidnapped, robbed, raped and murdered in the now “Chase” building at 15200 Sunset Boulevard.
A subsequent L.A. Times story quoted Jackie Dyer, who said, “She [Teak] was excited about the future. She wanted to make her life really count. She was concerned about the homeless, about pollution of the planet, about injustices in the world.
“Unfortunately, Teak has become a symbol of what she hated most in this world–people being unkind to others.”
By the time the murder trial started in December 1990, Jackie and Ron had divorced and Jackie had established a yoga studio in Mill Valley. In January 1991, on its third day of deliberations, a jury in Santa Monica found former security guard Rodney Garmanian guilty of Teak Dyer’s murder and attempted rape.
In 1998, Teak’s childhood friend Justine Stamen Arrillaga founded the TEAK Fellowship in New York, a mentoring program that helps outstanding middle-school students from low-income families gain admission to and succeed at top high schools and colleges. Jackie Dyer became a devoted founding trustee of the TEAK Fellowship.
“I’ve been involved from day one and have been there every step of the way,” said Dyer, who served on the Board of Directors when she returned to live in the Palisades. “This held me together. I felt supported by a huge community that shared in my loss. What better tribute to Teak than something living and breathing.”
On the TEAK Fellowship Instagram last week, Dyer’s friend Sloane Tanen wrote that “Jackie’s dedication to the Fellowship reflected her generous nature, keen intelligence, and her lifelong passion for democratic values. Jackie will be remembered for her beautiful smile, her kindness, friendship, and a singular spirit that brought people together and enhanced so many lives.”
She is survived by her son Dylan Dyer, her grandson Ryder Dyer, her daughter-in-law Danielle Dyer, her former husband Rod Dyer, her nieces and nephews, her close friends, and friends of Teak who adopted Jackie as their second mother.
A memorial for Jackie will be held in June. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: www.teakfellowship.org
I’m so terribly sorry.