Jennifer Park Obituary

Jennifer Allred Park passed away on August 24, 2023 at her home in Highland, Utah surrounded by her family after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. The impact of MS on Jenn’s life took its toll over many years; she managed it bravely and valiantly. She was born in Provo, Utah on May 29, 1964 to Ned and JoAnn Allred. Jenn grew up in Provo and ran track, played volleyball and was involved in student government at Provo High School. She played volleyball at Utah Technical College and received a scholarship to Western Wyoming Community College to play volleyball before marrying Matthew G. Park, the love of her life, in the Jordan River Temple on February 17, 1984. Matt and Jenn moved to Lehi in 1991 and raised their two kids there. They made and kept lots of friends over the years and were lucky to have a great support system to help out as Jenn’s MS symptoms progressed and things became more difficult for her. Our family is forever grateful to all of the people who supported us and provided care for her throughout the years. Jenn was a wonderfully caring woman and everyone who had the chance to get to know her loved her. She was known for giving thoughtful gifts and she was great at remembering birthdays and anniversaries, even including people’s pets. She always sent cards to family and friends to let them know she was thinking about them. She was the queen of thank you cards and even sent thank you cards in response to thank you cards that she received! She loved having friends and family over for meals and visits. She enjoyed hearing about what was happening in everyone’s life and she was genuinely interested and cared about how they were doing. Jenn had a way of making everyone feel accepted and loved, she brought a lot of joy to those who knew her. Even though things got difficult for her physically throughout her life, Jenn did not complain or bemoan her situation; instead, she was an inspiration and example of perseverance and grace through tribulation. Jenn had a great sense of humor and was also a bit of a prankster. Whether she was short-sheeting her kids’ beds on the night before school started, sending a plastic spider in the lunch she packed for Matt, or giving a box of rocks with a gift card taped to the bottom she was never mean-spirited and her pranks somehow always made you feel more loved while you laughed along with her. Jenn collected nutcrackers her whole life and accumulated over 150 of them! She loved displaying them at Christmas time, always saying "Aren’t they so cute?!" when showing them off to friends and family. She remembered the story about how she acquired each one, whether she bought it for herself or, more likely, who gave it to her as a gift. She was always excited to add a new one or 12 to her collection each year. Her sweet tooth was legendary. She always had bowls of candy around to share with visitors and there was always dessert after dinner or sometimes even dessert AS dinner. She was fond of ordering two (or more) desserts at a restaurant and having one served as her entree while everyone else had their meal and then following that up with her second dessert. Jenn loved music and she and Matt loved going to concerts together. They saw many great shows over the years including: Heart, Paul McCartney, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Eagles, Loggins and Messina, Joe Cocker, Kansas, Dan Folgelberg, Styx, Eric Clapton, Kenny Loggins, and James Taylor. Jenn leaves behind a family who will forever love and miss her: husband Matt, daughter Cammi and her partner Brandon, their daughter Maddy and her husband Chris, son Tagg and his wife Sarah. She also leaves behind her parents, mother-in-law, brother, sisters, brothers and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. A come as you are open house celebration of Jenn’s life will be held in the LDS Stake Center at 9626 N 6800 W in Highland on Monday, August 28 from 6 to 8 PM. Family and friends are invited to come eat some of her favorite treats and share their stories and memories of Jenn. Funeral services will be held in the LDS Stake Center at 9626 N 6800 W in Highland on Tuesday, August 29. Family and friends visiting hour begins at 1 PM and service will begin at 2 PM. If you have any pictures or memories of Jenn you would like to share please send them to cammi. park@gmail. com.