Jaime Ellen Sterling 1961 - 2021

Jaime Ellen Sterling was born January 20, 1961, in Sacramento, California, to Betty and James Burpo. As a child she spent every possible minute outdoors with her pony, Starlight, and was often accompanied by the family’s troop of Schnauzers. Regular family business trips allowed Jaime to experience parts of Europe and the Middle East during her youth. In Sacramento, she rode in countless horse shows and worked as a certified racehorse groom.

After her mother passed away from cancer in 1981, she went on to graduate from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Landscape Architecture. Jaime then bought a fixer-upper in San Luis Obispo and transformed it into a horse boarding ranch and renter service, all while running her new equine landscaping business, Equiscape. At the ranch, she raised Swedish Warmbloods and stayed busy with an array of pets, including Daisy the pig, Puppy the Schnauzer, and Jack the wild rabbit. In the late 1990s, Jaime bought the abandoned Millard Military School in Langlois, Oregon, and began transforming it into a group getaway destination. There she married Michael Sterling in 1998, and they had two daughters, Marin, born in 2000, and Teagan, born in 2003. Jaime and her family moved to the neighboring town of Bandon, but she continued running the business, as well as playing in a Scottish fiddle group, working on the Bandon Tree Committee, being a member of the local Presbyterian Church, and dedicating much time and effort to the town’s earthquake and tsunami preparedness.

Jaime was first diagnosed with cancer in 2006 as she was designing and building the family's next house farther east of Bandon. She was in remission less than two years later. Jaime and Mike divorced in 2010; several years later, Jaime, Marin and Teagan moved to McMinnville, Oregon, returning to Bandon and her business during the summers. In McMinnville, Jaime enjoyed working with the high school Music Boosters, and found a very welcoming community at First Presbyterian Church. In her spare time, she loved to go trail riding with her daughters.

In 2016, Jaime was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, and for over three years she maintained her active, outdoorsy lifestyle. She was a tireless advocate for her health, educating herself extensively on treatment options and regularly surprising her doctors and surpassing dim expectations. Despite several bouts of pneumonia over the last year and resulting complications, she was eternally positive and found peace in her strong faith. Jaime passed away at home November 23, 2021, with her daughters by her side. A memorial service is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday, January 22, 2022, at McMinnville First Presbyterian Church. There will be a livestream of the service available on the church website.