November 12, 2020

‘Gone the Sun’

Our effort in this issue to begin working with Frank Jastrzembski on his mission to recognize and honor the gravesites of the nation’s Civil War and Mexican War heroes (see P. 64) comes at a time of unthinkable heart­break, as America’s Civil War must unfortunately play Taps for one of our own. On October 1, we tragically lost our art director, Jennifer M. Vann, at the age of 52, her life cut short by a rare cancer that had been diagnosed only in June. Although she underwent several surgeries and aggressive chemotherapy, the cancer metastasized so rapidly it proved insurmountable.

Jennifer had long been a critical part in the success not only of this magazine but also our sister publication, Civil War Times. That both magazines have looked as splendid as they have every issue can be attributed primarily to Jennifer’s extraordinary imagination and inspiration and her exemplary design skills.

More important than any of that, however, is that we have lost a caring, gener­ous, fun-loving person and a dear friend in Jennifer. Fortunately, her memory will always be with us. Rest in Peace, Jennifer.

— Chris K. Howland, Editor

This tribute to Jen appears in America’s Civil War magazine, January 2021.

9 Comments

  • 💔❤️ These are so hard to read. When I became Jen’s boss in 1993, I’m not sure that she was thrilled to find out we had the same birthday 😂 exactly 10 yrs apart. But that was 27 yrs ago, so I had the pleasure of getting to know her very well and watch her from the time she was only out of college for a few years, to continue to work closely together as friends and coworkers (exchanging many birthday cards over the years) through so many of life’s ups and downs. Thinking of Jen on our birthday, thinking of Stephen and her beloved family and thinking of my former co workers and friends that also are missing our awesome friend.

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