I met Jennifer some years back at HistoryNet, and I suppose I should have guessed right away that she was from the Midwest, as I am, because she was always so genuinely nice, open, and fun to be around. Somewhere along the way—I’m not quite sure when or how—we discovered that we both had a special affinity for Italy. Soon we were sharing stories, lots of photographs from our respective travels, and dreams of maybe even living there someday. Jen always enjoyed talking about Lake Como or vin santo or affogato or just about anything Italian, really.

I didn’t know until recently that Jen loved vintage Corvettes. I do know, though, how much she loved tooling around Italy with Stephen on a motorcycle (this from all the pictures and stories she shared at work). This gave me an immediate appreciation for Jen and Stephen as an adventurous, spirited, and loving couple.

When our office closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I realized that even though we had worked for different magazines, Jen was one of the people I missed the most. She always had a smile and a kind word to anyone who passed by her desk at work.

Vola con gli angeli, Jen.

[Submitted by Bill Hogan]

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