Jennifer A. Willey

Jennifer A. Willey, 31
KENNEBUNKPORT -- Jennifer A. Willey, 31, died Sunday evening at Maine Medical Center in Portland following a long and inspiring battle with cancer. In so many ways big and small, Jen led a life ordinary enough to be real and extraordinary enough to touch all who knew her.
She grew up in Kennebunkport, on Willey Lane, the daughter of Thomas A. and Violet M. (Verge) Willey. She went to local schools and graduated from Kennebunk High School in 1997. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Maine, majoring in business.
As a young professional, she stayed in southern Maine and worked in human resources and workforce training. Those are the ordinary details of her life, though she did stand out along that familiar path. She was usually the best-liked person in the room with her electric smile and her easy laugh.
Along the way in this ordinary life, there were hints of something off the beaten path. She wanted a pet despite her allergies, and so settled on a pot-bellied pig she named Willa. She had a penchant for bling and designer labels, yet because she was so undeniably sweet, these never came off as pretentious, but rather as campy and fun.
For nearly 26 years she led a life that was playful and warm, as well as painstakingly honest. She was raised a Catholic, stayed true to her faith and was generous, caring and involved in her community. But God did not have an ordinary plan for Jennifer Ann Willey. For some reason in the rush of her 26th year, she was always tired. When she sought answers from the doctors, she got the difficult news: Hodgkins lymphoma. Though at an advanced stage, Jen and her family prayed and hoped that she would be among the 86 percent of Hodgkins patients who survive. That hope was in her very first journal entry of her website, www.jenniferwilley.org, dated Nov. 16, 2005: 'Well, I had my 12th and last chemo treatment last Thursday. It was bittersweet. I was happy to have the last one, but at the same time scared that I wasn't going to be receiving treatments anymore. It was a long haul with bumps along the way, but I've made it through it.'
It was, sadly, not the last treatment. There would come another round of chemo, two stem-cell transplants and the devastating effects of transplant rejection. And it is along this path that Jen touched many hearts. In her journal entries, she spared few details of the difficulties she faced. As a woman with cancer, the sweet girl from Kennebunkport couldn't - wouldn't - glaze over the devastating impact of her disease. After her second
Jennifer A. Willey
stem-cell transplant, her lungs were decimated by the complications. She spent her remaining days on oxygen and needed a wheel chair to get around. But along the way she had time to tell the world about her life, including her wonderful pig - which she eventually had to give up to an adoptive family.
During her cancer battle, she was the maid of honor at her sister's wedding, and got to see the birth of her nephew more than two years later. She collected many friends, both virtual and real-time. 'Live, laugh, love' was her creed, and all who knew here came to admire her grace under the pressure of a crushing illness.
Half a decade after her first journal entry, Jen entered some of the last of the many thousands of words she shared with the world, remarking on the fact that she had just celebrated another unexpected birthday: 'Again, thank you for following me on this long (5 years on May 26th) journey. I love you all and am blessed for the support you have given me through these years. Always in my heart forever. Keep Smiling, Fighting & Laughing!'
Jen is survived by her loving parents, who live in Kennebunkport; and by her sister, Shelley Porter, Shelley's husband John Porter; as well as her nephew, Jackson Porter, and step-nephew, Alden Porter, all of Glenburn. She is also survived by her step-brothers, Hank and Carl Willey, both of Saco; and an uncle, Edward A. Verge and his wife Robyn of Kennebunk.
Friends and family are invited to call on Friday from 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Holy Spirit Parish/St. Martha's Church, Portland Road, Kennebunk. Interment will be on Monday at 11 a.m. in Arundel Cemetery, Kennebunkport. Jen has asked that no one wear black. See more about Jen in Thursday's Passages. Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk. www.bibberfuneral.com.
Donations in Jen's memory
may be directed to:
The Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society, Donor Services
P.O. Box 4072
Pittsfield, Massachusetts 01202
The Dana Farber Cancer Institute
44 Binney St.
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
or Alese Coco - Fight 2 Win
522 1st Ave., Smilow Research Building, Suite 1100
New York City, New York 10016