Jennifer Lynn Holmes

It is with great sadness that I announce that Jennifer died on Friday, April 4st at 6: 00 PM from the effects of a stroke that she suffered on September 3rd of last year.

Jennifer was born on December 17, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio. She had two older brothers (Tom & Chris). We loved & tortured her throughout her life. Jennifer was our mom’s pride & joy. Jennifer loved her family & the many cats & dogs that shared her life.

Jennifer graduated from The School on Magnolia & went on to receive an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Cuyahoga Community College. Jennifer worked in the Early Childhood Education field for many years. Later she transitioned to providing direct service to adults in a group home setting. Jennifer loved this job & made many friends there. Jennifer’s favorite title was “Aunt Jenn.” Her nieces (Lauren & Michele) enjoyed many day trips with their Aunt Jenn to places like the Port Clinton Wildlife Safari, The Ostrich Farm, Red Wagon Farm & Holmes County. Hair & makeup days, cake baking & the occasional camping trip to Punderson State Park were also on the agenda.

Jennifer served on the board of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland for many years & supported several animal welfare charities.

Jennifer loved to travel. She & our mom logged a lot of miles during their travels. They drove across country to visit family in California, drove to see Chincoteague ponies, flew to Bermuda to visit Tom, flew to London & took the Eurostar to Paris.

The favorite trip of the Jennifer & mom traveling duo was the yearly trip to Lake of Bays, Ontario. We rented a cabin on the lake for about 20 years. The property had a little cottage directly on water where they could bed down. We had the main house for my family of 4. The days were filled with lots of sitting on the dock enjoying the views, swimming, fires in the lakeside fireplace, boating, excursions to the town for fresh baked goods. Evenings were spent preparing & enjoying excellent dinners, good conversations & good games of rummy.

Over the last 15 years or so Jennier was the primary care giver for our aged mom. She did a great job despite having to deal with her own limitations. For this I was very grateful to her.

I know that I will miss her and think of her often. Jennifer has gone to a better place, hopefully there she will be reunited with departed family, friends & her beloved pets.

Donations in Jennifer’s memory can be made to the Stay-A-While Cat Shelter at stayawhilecatshelter.org