Jennifer Lynne West

She was born on July 19, 1954 to Joseph Newton and Norma Eugenia West at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, TX.

Her mother once said that she wanted to spend all day just playing with Jennifer when she was a baby and that sometimes the housework suffered. She preferred to give all her attention to her precious newborn.

Jennifer was essentially an “only child” for 7 years. But in 1961, she got a baby brother, Joseph Newton West II or Jody. Soon after, in 1962, she got a baby sister, Jana Leigh. Finally in 1965, another baby sister, Jamie Lou, was born.

Jennifer was very close with her grandparents, Willie Mae and Jesse Burgin, as well as, Ellis and Dorothy West. She was the first born grandchild. She would later reside in the house on Church Street built by her grandfather, Jessie Burgin.

When Jennifer was a child, the family lived on Mulberry Street in Whitesboro. Charles Winchester, a next door neighbor, was a playmate. He stabbed her with a pencil one day when he was being a brat. The pencil lead broke off and Jennifer had a lead scar the rest of her life.

Jennifer loved music and played the clarinet in the Whitesboro Band. In the high school marching band, Jennifer twirled the baton as a Majorette. Later she gave twirling lessons. To further cultivate her love of music, she took guitar lessons from Carl Young, whom she later married.

Prior to marriage, Jennifer had many suitors. She has a steady courtship with Paul Barnett. Other boyfriends included Don Swank and Terry Rose. Later, Jennifer dated Doug Adams (who is also the Godfather to Nolan, Jennifer’s youngest nephew) and Don Swank again.

In adulthood, age difference did not matter to Jennifer when it came to friendships. Jennifer was a constant companion whether shopping, eating out, hanging out, dancing or sleeping over. She was a best friend to both of her sisters. She was passionate about her family. She always accompanied her Dad to doctor’s appointment, etc.

Jennifer was a loving and doting Aunt to Weston, Andi Renee’, Abigail Blessing and Nolan Wayne. Later she became Aunt to John Curtis and Cristin Linette as well. She would take them on little outings and was always shopping for them. As a sales consultant in the children’s department in Dillard’s department store, she bought the cutest items and latest styles for her nieces and nephews. Jennifer never had children of her own, so her nieces and nephews were her children.

Jennifer was raised in a household where sports were important. She grew up loving football and baseball although she never played.

Jennifer attended Cosmetology school with Jana which strengthened their relationship even more.

She was an avid reader. Jennifer knew much about many different things. This made her a highly sot after partner in Trivial Pursuit, which she loved.

Jennifer was very social and she loved parties. She began hosting the annual family gathering each year on Christmas Eve. Later she and Jamie took over the duties of cooking Thanksgiving dinner, usually at Jana’s house, while Jana’s family visited in-laws during the day. She had so much fun especially trying to duplicate her Mom’s recipe for dressing.

Jennifer loved cooking and experimenting with new recipes. She canned pickles with a recipe from Czechoslovakia, a Young family favorite.

Jennifer was proud to be a “yellow dog” Democrat. Her interest in politics began early and she joined the Young Democrats Association. She served the party as an Election Judge. She was a delegate to the Grayson county convention numerous times and a delegate to the state of Texas convention during Bill Clinton’s campaign.

Jennifer was a gifted singer. She sang professionally in restaurants, piano bars, clubs and lounges. Jennifer sang in all the weddings of her siblings. She sang many Barbara Streisand and Patsy Cline hits such as “Evergreen”, “The Way We Were” and “Crazy” to name a few. She sang in church and she sang lullabies to her baby nieces and nephews.

Jennifer also loved angels. She had quite a collection of porcelain and ceramic angels throughout her house. She also shared her love of angels by gifting angel snow globes to her nieces and nephews.

Jennifer loved clothes. She filled her closets and dressers with items that were distinctively her style. She had accessories for every outfit. She collected scarves and socks of every color. She loved sparkly items best. She could dress up a sweat shirt with a scarf, sparkly jewelry and socks and look perfect for a party or dinner out.

Jennifer was struck a heavy blow in 2001 when she was diagnosed with Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy which is a mild form of MD. She had complained of hip pain for years and had been misdiagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Upon further examination, doctors diagnosed her with Myotonic MD which a blood test confirmed. It did little to slow her down. She continued to have a zest for life. She loved to laugh and saw it as the best medicine. “Cutting up” with her sisters and friends provided her many opportunities to laugh.

Jennifer looked for fun up until her final weeks. She was on a date the night she suffered a brain stem hemorrhage which left her comatose. She died 3 weeks later on her birthday. Jennifer turned 48 on July 19, 2002.