Jennifer Ashabranner, age 73, passed away on November 19, 2025 of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). She had been a resident of The Seasons condominiums in Alexandria, VA for over 40 years.
She was born in Stillwater, OK in 1952 to Brent and Martha Ashabranner. When she was three years old and her sister Melissa was five, her father, an English professor at Oklahoma State University, accepted an offer to participate in a project to create reading materials for primary and secondary schools in Ethiopia. Thus began an adventure that would take the family all over the world. Over the next 12 years, they lived in Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, India and the Philippines while Brent worked with USAID, the Peace Corps and the Ford Foundation. They embraced every culture they lived in, enjoying the cuisines and travelling widely. Her parents felt that what the girls might have missed growing up in the US was offset by a wealth of experiences in other countries—meeting new people, absorbing new cultures, discovering new ways of looking at the world.
In 1983, Jennifer's parents retired and her father began a second career, writing over 30 non-fiction books for junior readers (age 12+) on US immigrants and other cross-cultural topics. Jennifer had developed an interest in photography, studying at NVCC and the Smithsonian, and she took pictures for several of his books including Always to Remember, a book about the Vietnam Veterans memorial.
Always a lover of pets, after high school at Walter Johnson High in Bethesda, Jennifer began a career in pet grooming which eventually included pet sitting. She cared for multiple generations of pets for longtime clients and became friends to many over the years. She loved to take pictures of her clients, often using them in greeting cards to their owners on holidays. She learned to treat animals with medical needs and was in demand to care for aging or ill pets. She often said her life's work had been caring for animals—a role she felt honored to fulfill.
A few weeks ago, after a three-year illness, she was moved to hospice at Virginia Hospital Center. She wrote on Facebook to tell her friends of her declining health. She thanked them all for the years of friendship, of sharing news and photos (especially of family and pets) over the years and wished all a good and happy life. The outpouring of love, appreciation and admiration for her bravery was so meaningful to her in her last days, and she was grateful that she could express her thanks for the many friends, clients and neighbors who stepped up to help her in the past few months.
Jennifer is survived by her sister Melissa Ashabranner and brother-in-law Jean-Keith Fagon (DC), nephew Damian Fagon-Karraker (New York), nieces Naomi Fagon (Washington DC), Olivia-Jené Fagon (New York), great-nephew Neo Fagon (England), her son Sean Malone (Georgia) and her dear friend Ellen Elliot of The Seasons.
To make a donation in her memory, she has chosen Lucky Dog Animal Rescue (luckydoganimalrescue.org)
She was born in Stillwater, OK in 1952 to Brent and Martha Ashabranner. When she was three years old and her sister Melissa was five, her father, an English professor at Oklahoma State University, accepted an offer to participate in a project to create reading materials for primary and secondary schools in Ethiopia. Thus began an adventure that would take the family all over the world. Over the next 12 years, they lived in Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, India and the Philippines while Brent worked with USAID, the Peace Corps and the Ford Foundation. They embraced every culture they lived in, enjoying the cuisines and travelling widely. Her parents felt that what the girls might have missed growing up in the US was offset by a wealth of experiences in other countries—meeting new people, absorbing new cultures, discovering new ways of looking at the world.
In 1983, Jennifer's parents retired and her father began a second career, writing over 30 non-fiction books for junior readers (age 12+) on US immigrants and other cross-cultural topics. Jennifer had developed an interest in photography, studying at NVCC and the Smithsonian, and she took pictures for several of his books including Always to Remember, a book about the Vietnam Veterans memorial.
Always a lover of pets, after high school at Walter Johnson High in Bethesda, Jennifer began a career in pet grooming which eventually included pet sitting. She cared for multiple generations of pets for longtime clients and became friends to many over the years. She loved to take pictures of her clients, often using them in greeting cards to their owners on holidays. She learned to treat animals with medical needs and was in demand to care for aging or ill pets. She often said her life's work had been caring for animals—a role she felt honored to fulfill.
A few weeks ago, after a three-year illness, she was moved to hospice at Virginia Hospital Center. She wrote on Facebook to tell her friends of her declining health. She thanked them all for the years of friendship, of sharing news and photos (especially of family and pets) over the years and wished all a good and happy life. The outpouring of love, appreciation and admiration for her bravery was so meaningful to her in her last days, and she was grateful that she could express her thanks for the many friends, clients and neighbors who stepped up to help her in the past few months.
Jennifer is survived by her sister Melissa Ashabranner and brother-in-law Jean-Keith Fagon (DC), nephew Damian Fagon-Karraker (New York), nieces Naomi Fagon (Washington DC), Olivia-Jené Fagon (New York), great-nephew Neo Fagon (England), her son Sean Malone (Georgia) and her dear friend Ellen Elliot of The Seasons.
To make a donation in her memory, she has chosen Lucky Dog Animal Rescue (luckydoganimalrescue.org)
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Jennifer Ann Ashabranner, please visit our flower store.
Jennifer Ann Ashabranner's Guestbook
Visits: 76
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors