Jennifer "Ja" LaMond

The world lost an original with the passing of Jennifer "Ja" Ann LaMond on December 3, 2025 from complications from cancer. She will be remembered for many things, especially the fierceness of her commitment to the causes and people that mattered to her.
She was a surfer, having started in her early twenties when female surfers on the Island were few and far between. It remained a passion throughout her life. Despite her illness, she managed a couple of September sessions in the water.
She was committed to protecting the environment, most notably by leaving parts of her property wild for the benefit of insects, birds, and animals. Alongside her father, she was an early beekeeper and passionate about creating native habitats and sustainability.
She was an avid hiker, summitting many Adirondack peaks with her husband, Dan. As a celebration of her retirement, they fulfilled a lifelong dream and hiked the Dolomites in northern Italy.
She had a long teaching career, starting with a 6-month gig in Colombia teaching English. This was followed by over 30 years in the Middletown school system, mostly at Gaudet Middle School. Much of her career was teaching English Language Learners, and English. While her retirement was cut tragically short, for a brief time she volunteered to teach adult English Language Learners. She was committed to fostering the discovery of the joy in language. She wanted her students to leave her classroom one step closer to being able to read, write, and succeed. As importantly, she wanted them to embrace the curiosity, fun, and power in reading. A voracious reader herself (a frequent visitor to local libraries), she introduced her middle school students to reading as recreation with a weekly "Survival Fridays" class during which they read exciting stories of perseverance.
Her teaching career was notable for her commitment to her fellow teachers. She was very active in the teachers' union for many years; serving on the contract negotiation committee. She fought for the rights of students, especially new immigrants. She believed in doing the tough, sometimes frustrating behind-the-scenes work that fostered respect and value for the work of teachers. All the while, she kept her great sense of humor, using her vast vocabulary and creative turns of phrase.
Ja was the treasured daughter of the late Catherine (Fitzgerald) LaMond and Charles Paul LaMond. She was dedicated to her husband, Dan Denton, theirs was a true partnership. In this last challenging year, Dan's devotion showed Ja she was cared for and deeply loved.
She will be immeasurably missed by her siblings, Deb LaMond, Paul LaMond and his husband Alex Molina, Catherine Quinn and her husband David, Betsy LaMond and her wife, Jean Piette, Christian LaMond, Susan LaMond, and Alex LaMond and Ja's lifelong friend, Nancy Hughes and her wife, Ann-Marie Harrington.
She was beloved by her nieces and nephews, Margaret Oprosky, Ben Gilroy, Alexandra and Charles Quinn, and Whitney and Parker Hagen.
She leaves her sisters-in-law, Jessica Hagen, and the late Patricia Denton, as well as many loving cousins and extended family members and friends. She will be sorely missed by her loyal companion pup, Chip.
We lost a unique, feisty woman and we'll never be the same.
Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 from 3:00 PM-6:00 PM at the O'Neill-Hayes Funeral Home, 465 Spring Street, Newport. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Native Plant Trust at https://nativeplanttrust.org, Conexión Latina at https://clnewport.org or Donors Choose at https://donorschoose.org