Obituary
Jennifer Fernald Link
7/26/1962-3/10/2017
Jennifer Fernald Link, 54, of New Smyrna Beach, FL, died peacefully in her sleep at her home on March 10,2017. She was born on July 26, 1962, in New York City. She was the daughter of Deborah S. Link, M.D., of New Canaan, CT, and the late Gordon L. Link of New Smyrna Beach, FL. She was a resident of New Smyrna Beach, FL, since 2001 .
Jenny was raised in New Canaan, and attended the New Canaan County School. She continued her education at Milton Academy, graduating in 1980. Jenny received her B.A., cum laude, from Wesleyan University in 1985. Jenny lived in San Francisco for years, working for the Jewish Community Relations’ Council for nearly a decade. She also pursued her training in fine arts, receiving her Masters of Fine Art with distinction from the University of San Francisco. Jenny’s work has been exhibited in numerous shows and online journals across the country. She was a master of printmaking and collage. Her beautiful collages often explore themes of nature and time. Jenny loved her work as an art instructor to children at the New Smyrna Beach Public Library. She collaborated with her friend, Carl Scharwath, in poetry and photography projects. Much of her art appears under the name Jennifer Clare Fernald.
Jenny was an avid reader. Her passion was poetry, from classic Greek to contemporary. Her visual art was often accompanied or inspired by poetry. She was a lover of animals, especially her beloved cat. She was often at her happiest in nature, whether at Aloha Camp in Vermont, summers in New Hampshire, or marveling at the majesty of the great Sequoias. Her love of nature and her religious faith were closely connected. Raised Presbyterian, Jenny actively explored her faith with the intellectualism that was her strength. She also honored her Jewish heritage. In 2004, Jenny converted to Catholicism, and was a member of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park, FL. Her confirmation name, Clare, symbolized her connection to St. Francis of Assisi, whom she revered. She had many dear friends at church. Jenny was keenly interested in genealogy, and was a member of the Colonial Dames of America and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.
Jenny is survived by her loving mother, Debby Link, of New Canaan, CT; her sister, Helen L. Egger, of Durham, NC; Helen’s husband, Daniel Egger, and their children, Rebecca, Sasha, Leo and Oliver Egger of Durham, NC; her sister, Katherine L. White, of Northampton, MA; Katherine’s husband, T. Michael White and. their children, Margaret and James White, of Northampton, MA. Jenny is also survived by her aunt; Nancy Palmer, of Philadelphta; and her three cousins, Richard, John and Anne Palmer.
Jenny will be laid to rest at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge MA with a service at Bigelow Chapel on May 6th, 2017, where she will join her beloved grandmother, the late Helen Fernald Shaw. Memorial gifts may be directed to the Aloha Foundation in Fairlee, VT where Jenny grew up loving the mountains. Jenny treasured her connection to the traditions, community and joys of camp.
I will miss her very much.