At 6:27 pm on September 22, 2009, Jennifer Paige "Jenn" Taylor took her last labored breath in a Richmond, Virginia, area hospital. Jenn died just after her 37th birthday and three months after being diagnosed with an aggressive and pervasive cancer that likely originated in her bladder. She was diagnosed in the final stage of the disease because the medical profession does not typically suspect cancer in the young.

Jenn grew up and attended school in Montgomery, WV, having moved there from Pt. Pleasant as a child. She spent a lot of her childhood weekends with her grandparents, Ray and Betty Beale, in Summersville. Jenn earned a baccalaureate degree in Accounting from the University of Charleston in 1994 and a juris doctorate from Washington and Lee University in 1997, shortly after which she was admitted to the WV State Bar. She practiced law in Charleston where she was a prosecutor before being chosen for a prestigious federal clerkship, after which she handled bankruptcy cases for a local law firm. Jenn distinguished herself as one of the best bankruptcy lawyers in West Virginia, where her expertise was in high demand. She took pride in helping people who could not help themselves. She gave to others when she had little to give, up until the day she succumbed to her disease. Through all her accomplishments, Jenn's keen intellect was rivaled only by her wit and humanity.

Jenn would do anything for her loved ones. In her last days, she was focused on the feelings of those she would leave behind rather than her own fears. She deliberately prolonged her suffering so those who loved her could see and speak to her before the end. Though she joked she spent many of her "waking hours" napping during her final days, she denied herself medication that would have eased her pain to make the most of her time with her loved ones. Before becoming ill, Jenn loved to work in her garden, cook, and kvetch with her mother on their shared sun porch.

Jenn is survived by her loving mother, Lynda L. Taylor, whom she worshipped and emulated for her love of life; her older sister Allison and brother-in-law Mark; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, step family and friends, all of whom will miss her terribly. She is pre-deceased by her father, James D. Taylor, of Point Pleasant, who passed away October 10, 2008. Jenn's parting words to her family were these: "I can't help but feel like we will all be together again in some sense or another. It all seems connected – man, nature, God – and peaceful and hopeful." Her loved ones have faith in that vision.

Jenn's family will hold a service to honor her memory next summer on July 17, 2010 at Summersville's United Methodist Church at 1:00 p.m., followed by a reception.

Jenn's care has been entrusted to Crow-Hussell Funeral Home. An online guest registry is available at: www.crowhussellfh.com