Jacqueline Pimentel, a longtime resident of Edgartown whose boundless sunny outlook and curious nature were matched only by her sparkling smile and indomitable spirit, died at her home on Clevelandtown Road on Oct. 2, 2009, of breast cancer. Jackie was a well-known figure on the Vineyard, where she had worked for many years in the real estate profession, although she pursued a number of careers in her life and her interests were varied and far-flung: she was a Girl Scout leader, business booster, arts patron, birding enthusiast and diehard friend, among many other things.

“When we arrived in the ninth grade at Winthrop Junior High after a few days we saw posters all around the school for the election of class officers,” recalled her close childhood friend Mary Doolan in a eulogy for her last fall. “One poster stood out . . . It was a colorful picture of a carousel that said: Jump aboard the carousel, Vote for Jackie Pimentel. We not only voted for Jackie but we all jumped aboard the carousel and what a ride it’s been.”

Jacqueline Ann Pimentel was born on Oct. 4, 1949 in Boston, the daughter of William (Jack) Pimentel and Betsy Ross. She grew up in Winthrop and attended public schools there. Her women friends with whom she remained close throughout her life recalled her as a class leader and the most popular girl in school. She was vice president of her class in the days when girls were rarely elected class presidents and a cheerleader who crossed all group barriers, her friends said. Following high school she attended North Shore Community College in Beverly. After college she had a series of jobs, including starting her own business, a moped company. She spent winters in Winthrop and summers on Cape Cod. Her friend Anne Carney Blain recalled one cold winter day when the two of them, at the age of 20 or 21, decided to move to Florida on a whim. There they found jobs as photographers, traveling around in a Winnebago to elementary schools and taking portraits and class pictures of school children. They would finish the job as early in the day as possible and then head for the beach.

Anne left Florida to return home and Jackie stayed for a time, still working as a photographer. Eventually she returned home and lived and worked in Salem as a photographer, also living in Swampscott for a time.

In the early 1980s she moved to the Vineyard, instantly falling in love with the Island and declaring it her home. “She said the Island was a place that was a size she could live in, it was a place that could support a quality life,” said her friend Mary Doolan. “She never lost her excitement for the Island.”

Jackie went to work for Barbara Nevin in her Edgartown real estate office, where she remained for many years. After Bobbie Nevin died, Jackie moved to Rob and Patty Kendall’s real estate company in Vineyard Haven. She was known as a consummate professional, but her work never defined her. Ever intellectually curious, she developed a passion for art and returned to school in her later years, obtaining a degree from Harvard University, with honors. She studied art abroad in Portugal and joined the board of the Harvard Club in Boston. She set up an arts committee on the Island and started a charitable arts tour for businesses. She was a keen birder. She jumped off the bridge in Oak Bluffs with her friend Anne’s teenage daughter, Olivia Blain. She helped organize the Christmas parade in Edgartown every year. A practicing Catholic for much of her life, she led CCD classes at St. Elizabeth’s Church in Edgartown. She later left the church and began to embrace Eastern religious traditions, nourishing and focusing on her spiritual side.

She had a fun sense of style and owned a large collection of vintage clothes, many saved from the sixties and seventies, which she wore with an easygoing flair that most women could not pull off.

In October of 2008, to mark the occasion of breast cancer awareness month, Jackie, who was undergoing chemotherapy and had already lost her hair, won a wedding dress in a contest at an Edgartown bridal boutique. The owner of the boutique was offering to give away an expensive Ralph Lauren wedding gown to the first person it fit. Ms. Pimentel was the first person to walk through the door, and like Cinderella’s slipper, the elegant gown fit her perfectly.

When she was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer for a second time two years ago, her friends said she steadfastly refused to be morose despite the prognosis.

“Did I mention her courage and her iron will?” her friend Mary said in the eulogy. “She immediately created what she called her white light project and she engaged everyone she knew, including her doctors at Beth Israel, to bathe her in positive energy for her complete healing. She named her tumor the wicked witch of the breast and called her journey a magic carpet ride . . . she’s the only person I ever saw make a party out of chemotherapy . . . and when she finished months of grueling treatment, she threw a graduation party complete with cap and gown, diploma, cake and refreshments.

“In response to the most difficult year of her life, Jacqueline chose joy and it’s fair to say she wrote the book on living while dying.”

Jackie was quietly pleased to learn before she died that a special fund and art scholarship would be created in her name on the Island.

And true to character, she remained vivacious and full of sparkle to the end.

“Jackie was not a noun, Jackie was a verb. She was the epitome of intention turned into action. She taught us by bringing her dreams into reality, time and time again,” her friend Mary said in the eulogy.

She is survived by her mother, Betsy Pimentel of Tulsa, Okla.; three brothers, John of Swampscott, Kenneth of Tulsa, Okla., and George of Chicago, Ill.; one sister, Christine Woods of Winthrop. She was the cherished aunt of Jacqueline, Ashley and Morgan Woods as well as Richelle and George Pimentel. She leaves a wide circle of loving friends, on and off the Island, who cared for her through her illness and the family wishes to thank them all.

Funeral services were held last October in the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown.

Memorial donations may be made to the Permanent Endowment Fund of Martha’s Vineyard, care of the Jacqueline Pimentel Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1182, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.

A celebration of her life is planned for a future date which will be announced in the Gazette.