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Graveside services will be held 11 am April 6, 2024 in Union Town Cemetery, Union Town, Kansas. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Luke's Hospice House. Messages of condolence may be left for the family at www.mullinaxfuneralhome.com.
Jennifer Pauline was born on January 13, 1967, in Orange, CA to Marlene (Quandt) and Arthur Frese. The youngest of five, Jennifer was the adored baby of a hard-working family, who held multiple jobs to stay afloat—including weekly office-cleaning. As a toddler under the watchful eye of her sisters, Jennifer’s “job” was picking-up paperclips so the vacuums her brothers wielded wouldn’t clog. Neary every summer, the Frese family traveled back to Grand Island to spend time in Nebraska on the Quandt Family Farm. Some of Jennifer’s sweetest memories include the farm’s many kittens and the huge, German Shepherd dog, Fritz. Jennifer fondly recalled one winter, when Grandpa brought a newborn calf into the kitchen—nursing it back to life. These impressionable years not only fostered Jennifer’s love of “farm” and faith, but also helped shape her into a strong, industrious, multi-faceted woman.
This strength would be needed throughout Jennifer’s entire adult life as she successfully beat sarcoidosis and its insidious counterparts for almost 40 years. In the 80’s, when she was still a high school scholar-athlete, doctors found the 1st tumor in her parathyroid. Despite ongoing surgeries and accompanying irradiation treatments, Jennifer embarked on a successful academic career, graduating from Notre Dame Belmont, 1990, Cum Laude; recipient of the English Department Award for Service. This award foretold Jennifer’s career choice: to work with at-risk students in one of the Nation’s highest murder-rate communities. She followed this path of service, despite Estée Lauder’s lucrative offer to model—for Jennifer was truly beautiful. In the ‘90’s, Disney would use Jennifer’s real-life urban experiences as research for the movie and TV Series, Dangerous Minds. For the rest of her life, Jennifer would keep letters from these students, praying for the kids whose lives she so greatly influenced. Along the way, Jennifer received numerous prestigious awards, including a coveted Phi Delta Kappa Scholarship during graduate school and Sequoia Union School District “Teacher of the Year.” Jennifer also continued writing, and in 1999, co-authored a guidebook of successful strategies, Meetings that Work in Education
As the millennium approached, Jennifer was again recovering from surgery, when her life took a wonderful turn. She met and married the love of her life, Bradley G. Poore. Jennifer and Brad shared a deep love for the Lord and each other, blessing one another with their dream home and farm. It was here Jennifer would find peace and joy for the rest of her life. Of her illness, Jennifer would say, “Brad and I have decided to fight this disease with all we have, and if at some point, we’re not successful, then we know the ending . . . and it’s glorious!” On January 24, 2024, just days after her 57th birthday, Jennifer joined the Lord in that glory, and while we are thrilled for her, our hearts will forever be missing a piece.
Jennifer is preceded in death by her father Arthur, brother David, in-laws Melvin & Ida, Corliss & Aubrey, and stepfather, Clarence. She is survived by her beloved husband Brad, her mother Marlene, Godparents Pauline & Larry, sisters Pamela (Brian) and Kathryn (Stuart),
sister-in-law Amy, brother Mark, stepbrother Bret (Mercedes) and stepmother Jady, as well as many nieces, nephews, Godchildren, grand-nieces/nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
