Name: Celebration of Life for Jenny Jane Cantor
Start: 2016-02-27T21:00:00.000Z
Location: Alfred Mitchell Room at the Lodge at Torrey Pines

Jenny Jane (nee Smollar) Cantor

October 15, 1942 - January 12, 2016

SAN CARLOS
Jenny Jane Cantor died suddenly of a heart attack at her San Carlos home on January 12, 2016, while engaged in one of her favorite pastimes: reading.

Fiercely independent despite decades of health challenges, her interests spanned writing, photography, sewing, cooking, and attending the theater.

Jenny was born in Chicago, the oldest daughter of Dr. Leo and Jane Smollar, and lived all but her first three years in San Diego. After graduating Point Loma High in 1959, she attended the University of Arizona where in 1961 she met Gary Richard Cantor. They married the next year and had two children, Julie Ann (San Francisco) in 1962, and Daniel Abraham (Glendale) in 1966. They divorced in 1972.

Jenny's long and colorful employment career began at KGTV Channel 10 as an assistant to the production manager. In 1975, she was hired by Knoth & Meads advertising agency to oversee marketing for McDonald's in San Diego County. Carl Karcher Enterprises in Fullerton lured her away two years later to handle Carl's Jr. marketing in Southern California. Commuting daily on Amtrak, Jenny helped organize a popular weekly happy hour in the lounge car for the many San Diegans on board. In 1980, she switched to the Trusthouse Forte company in El Cajon, where she oversaw marketing for Colony Kitchens restaurants in the SW United States.

After recession forced the London-based company to close its El Cajon office and lay off many executives, Jenny moved into retail sales at Mervyn's and then J.W. Robinson's in Fashion Valley until health problems related to Chron's disease forced her to work part time. To address the loss of full-time work, Jenny returned to academia, first attending Grossmont College and then UCSD's Muir College, graduating cum laude in 1995 with a B.A. in English and American literature. She continued with graduate studies in literature at SDSU, while returning to full-time work as the administrative assistant for UCSD's Psychology Department, a position she held until retirement in 2012.

At UCSD, she created novel marketing campaigns for psychology studies. With her tremendous sense of style, she created beautiful receptions and dinners for visiting professors and lecturers and planned multi-day seminars, assuring attendees experienced the best UCSD and San Diego had to offer. She also regularly helped students deal with school or personal problems, even occasionally preparing dinner for them. During this period, the pleasure her work gave her helped her successfully cope with cancer.

In retirement, Jenny took up photography, doing studies of places like the San Diego Zoo, the beaches, and the new downtown San Diego library. She also took joy in discovering the best places to eat in different neighborhoods or hiking the back trails of Balboa Park.

In addition to her children and former husband, Jenny is survived by a sister, Judith Sandstrom (Marina del Rey), and a brother, David Smollar (San Diego).

A life celebration will be held on February 27 at 1:00 p.m. in the Alfred Mitchell Room at the Lodge at Torrey Pines.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Vincent de Paul Village / Father Joe's Villages, www.svdpv.org.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Diego Union-Tribune on Feb. 14, 2016.

Memories and Condolences
for Jenny Cantor

11 Entries

Abby Ashkenazi

October 6, 2016

So sorry to learn of Jenny's passing. My mother, Seena Levy Sloan, always spoke fondly of her uncles and cousins in California. Abby Sloan Ashkenazi ( My grandmother, Fannie Smollar Levy, was Leo's sister).

Lee Urias

July 25, 2016

Unique, one of a kind, she was a inspiration in my life. We were roommates at the U of Arizona in our sophomore year. We had lots of fun and I enjoyed meeting her family and spending spring break at her home and participating in the Seder. Over the years we stayed in touch and she was so kind to my son Andy when he was in San Diego one summer living with his grandmother and playing tennis. She took him under her wing and showed him the sights. I still have letters she wrote to me. We live in the East and during the last years have not been in touch. I missed her.
She was beautiful in every way. Rest in Peace, Jenny

Kathy Damm

February 29, 2016

I wanted to thank you for inviting me to the celebration last Saturday. I am so glad I came down for that event. It was perfect in every way. It was elegant, welcoming, and a true celebration of your mother's life. You both could not have done a better job at putting on an event for all of us to celebrate what we loved about her.

I met your mother in 2000. I had just started as a grad student and she was exactly as you described yesterday, a protective mother-like figure for many of us. In my first year of grad school, I decided I wanted to try a different style so I started wearing hats; all different kinds of crazy hats. I didn't realize at the time that your mom was also wearing hats to cover some of the effects of the treatment she was receiving. She thought I was wearing hats to support her hat wearing and she was very excited that we were doing this together. I didn't have the heart to tell her I had no idea in the beginning what she was going through. But we both began our journey and had a lot of fun sharing our new styles together. We formed a deep bond that I will never forget. She was my loudest advocate and a confidant.

I thought I would share the last email I received from her in June. I had been working in Nevada and she discovered that I got a job up here in Mission Viejo and sent me an email to congratulate me. When I read the email now, there is a bit of irony in that a lot of what she said I could now say back to her. I think she is also in a good place with family and friends and they are lucky to have her.

Please enjoy this email that she wrote because I think it does a great job at reflecting her professionalism, perfect choice of words, and genuine sentiment. She was such a phenomenal person. Thank you for sharing her with us.

With Love,
Kathy Damm

From Jenny Cantor 6/6/15

You're back on the coast at Saddleback! and that is perfect news. Such a fantastic fit; Saddleback studentsgets the best professor of statistics--ever, and you're close to your family and friends, ucsd colleagues... and Caroline and Ami. What a perfect place for you to be. Since I retired, I'm so far out of the loop but eventually thebest of news comes through, so as late as this is, congratulations!

Your web photo is beautiful, you look just beside yourself with happiness and joy, and that is a good thing to see. Cheers!

Nelson

February 26, 2016

May you rest in peace. Although we never met, Dan would talk about you, as I could tell he was very close to you, as I am with my mother. God Bless and my condolences to the entire family. Dan sorry for the loss my friend.

Beth Stare

February 26, 2016

Jenny was a beautiful force of nature and one of the favorite people I had the honor of calling my friend while at UCSD. I join you from Chicago in celebrating and appreciating her life. Peace.

February 25, 2016

I'm so sorry to hear about Jenny's passing. My heartfelt condolences go out her family. She was remarkable in so many ways, and figured prominently in my postgraduate educational experience at UCSD Psychology. I obtained my first tenure track job in 2008. Then the economy imploded, and I (along with more than 20 others like me) was laid off from that job before I even got keys to my new office. Jenny gave me a bottle of champagne and a card. The outside of the card read: "Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. On the inside Jenny wrote: "When life hands you lemons, screw lemonade, drink champagne."

I still have the card. I drank the champagne. Much love to you Jenny. Heather Flowe x

Laurel Rohlf

February 24, 2016

I will remember Jenny as a smart, sharp woman who was always kind and a role model for me.

Mitchell Sterling

February 24, 2016

I will miss you Aunt Jenny. You will always live on in my memories! Love Mitchell.

Marilyn (nee Schowengerdt) Smoler

February 23, 2016

I first met Jenny, the summer before entering Dana Jr. High, on a bus going down Catalina Blvd. to Balboa Park. We became friends, and remained so. The last time I saw Jenny was at lunch in San Diego, with several of our high school friends, and I remember Jenny talking about Julie being in Chief's School. That is the last time I remember seeing her. I tried to contact her about Point Loma High's class of 59 's 50th Reunion, but couldn't reach her. In 2010, I again tried to reach her to tell her I had married David Smoler, and even tried again more recently. I wish now, that I had tried harder.

Lucie Wiseman

February 16, 2016

I was very saddened to hear of Jenny's passing. I was fortunate to get to know Jenny when she worked at UCSD. She always impressed me with her unwavering good spirits, humor, animation and keen intelligence. She will be missed.

My deepest sympathies to her family.

Linda Sanders (Morghen)

February 14, 2016

Jenny was a wonderful neighbor who always baked Christmas cookies for us, supported whatever Girl Scout project we were involved in and entertained us with stories from her days at KGTV.

She had a brilliant mind and had the rare ability to succinctly put her thoughts down on paper. I will never forget the day her essay was chosen as an editorial in the Los Angeles Times. The subject was the economy, of which she knew first hand.

Although we lost touch when we moved, I have never forgotten her kindness and quick wit. My most sincere condolences to her family.

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