Jennifer Lynn Colboth
Jennifer Lynn Colboth
November 15th, 1971 – February 21st, 2025
*Author’s Note: The following excerpts in our “Life Stories” are from the Celebration of Life service for Jennifer Lynn Colboth for you to read, reflect, and pay your respects privately. It was an honor to help Jennifer’s family pay tribute to her vibrant and impactful life. Loving sentiments were shared by Jennifer’s brother-in-law and her Godmother’s son, and a heartfelt song was sung by a family friend. Jennifer will be dearly missed by many.
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All of us gather here today with broken hearts because Jennifer is no longer a physical presence in our lives. We have a powerful sense of loss. Where we are experiencing her loss- a missing piece- Jennifer is experiencing completeness- wholeness. May you know in your hearts that Jennifer’s journey is complete, she is home now in the loving embrace of our Lord in heaven. She is reunited with the loved ones she had been missing including her grandma Zelma, her aunt Zella, her dear cats Tootie and Seuss and dog Sasha. She is surrounded by love.
And while the broken pieces of your heart will never quite be the same, know that Jennifer would not want your heart to be troubled. She would want you to embrace your life with a vibrant energy reminiscent of her own.
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Jennifer grew up in Waukegan, IL and graduated from Waukegan East High School in 1989. Jennifer went on to serve the community for 33 years as a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service in Waukegan. Delivering the mail was a family interest, and Jennifer’s father, grandmother, and sister were all letter carriers, too. Jennifer forged many friendships with those she greeted with a smile on her daily route. Jennifer grew to love the community members she delivered mail to and even created custom artwork for some folks on her route. Three decades of delivering mail in heat, snow, rain, and tornados left Jennifer with some pretty wild stories that maybe you were privileged to hear.
Jennifer was very proud of her Sicilian heritage. She was independent, creative, handy, and stubborn. Her dad lovingly said, “When it comes to Jennifer, Sinatra’s ‘I did it my way’ line fits best. I could offer her my suggestions, but she would already have her mind made up.”
Jennifer had a big heart and loved her family, her children, and animals. She adored being “Nana” to her precious grandchildren, and she was always so much fun. She had a major sweet tooth. If she told you to get snacks that meant to get dessert. Her kids noted that she could eat anything and still be tiny, granted she did walk 13 miles per day carrying the mail.
She embraced all of nature and helped with the horses at local stables. She was a talented artist skilled in sculpture and watercolor and acrylic painting. She showcased her art at numerous local art shows, and her creative spirit lives on through the beautiful art she created. She loved cars and thoroughly enjoyed her stick shift Ford SHO. Jennifer immensely enjoyed the time spent with her dad racing his Corvette at the Great Lakes Dragaway. She liked to “Scoop the Loop” in Waukegan and had a great time at all the car shows.
Jennifer embraced life with her unique strength, style, and vigor. Above all, she was so proud of her children, and she bragged about her kids to the nurses caring for her up until the very end.
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It does feel like Jennifer’s 53 years went by way too quickly. While no length of time with our loved ones will ever seem long enough, know that it was an absolute blessing to have had Jennifer present on this earth for over 5 decades. Her time here and her time spent with each of you was a precious gift. When your world is feeling a little too empty, may you fill it with gratitude that your time here overlapped with Jennifer’s and that you were blessed to know her.
I invite you to share the memories, share the love today and in the days and years to come so that Jennifer’s legacy may endure. Embrace and share with others the qualities of Jennifer that you love and miss so much. Find joy in the simple things, spend time with your family, listen to music while you clean the house, embrace a DIY project, dance like your children are watching and you don’t care if you embarrass them a little, and remember Jennifer.
May you find yourself surrounded by Jennifer’s precious love always. May all those sweet memories comfort you, may you find peace in the ways you find her to still be a part of your present, and may any hopelessness you may have felt shift into a new beautiful hope of being reunited with her again someday in the kingdom of God.
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Jennifer will be forever missed by her cherished family including her children Alyssa, Alexandra, and Shane, her parents Darrell and Fran, her son-in-law Tony, her grandchildren Lucas and Elena, her sister Christine and brother-in-law Rob, her nephews Jacob, Brendan, and Ryan, and many other dear family members and friends.
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Jennifer, may you rest in eternal peace knowing you are dearly loved.
My sincere condolences and love, Holly