Cambridge, Ohio—January 23, 1981. She was born the smallest living baby in Guernsey County history at only two pounds and four ounces, 10” in length. While her mother recovered in the delivery room, the attending physician (an elderly country gentleman by the name of Thomas D. Swan) improvised a small breathing mask to feed her oxygen until a neonatal ambulance from Columbus Children’s Hospital could arrive. For two and a half hours, Dr. Swan and his nurse tended to her delicate body: breathing for her, swaddling her and murmuring encouragements into her soft, pink ear, but their prognosis was grim. The work of filling her tiny lungs caused her weight to drop precipitously until, by the time her ambulance had arrived, she weighed only one pound, thirteen ounces: barely more than a loaf of bread.

Jennifer was brought to her mother in an isolette to say what most believed to be their final goodbye. She held Jennifer’s tiny hand, caressed her cheek, kissed her forehead and wished her strength but also, if she had to go into that good night, to go with the understanding that she was loved, then and forever.

Jennifer Lorraine Key survived that night, as well as the next, and many nights thereafter. When she grew strong enough to travel, prior to her 1st birthday, her family moved from Ohio to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. In 1985, they moved again to Iowa, where they would settle and she would attend West Liberty and Iowa City schools as a daring young student of philosophy and the arts.

Jennifer’s mind, given to the rich spectacle of experience and enlightenment, flowered. She became a woman of both length and longing: long limbs, long hair, ardent yearnings and a tempestuous heart. She dyed her hair red to embody her fiery spirit and kept a small amber pendant to heal whatever pains life might unknowingly dispense.

She traveled the United States, planting seeds of artistic expression in whatever soil she could find. When the time came to return home, she did so with warm tidings and stories to both shock and amaze. She loved and was loved by all of the people she met, without regard to caste or circumstance. She gave more than she took, and by her generosity, never ceased to enrich and bless those around her.

Jennifer took her own life on August 13, 2009. She was 28 years old. In the five years prior to her death, she was tormented by the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder. She heard voices that were not her own and periodically believed things about herself and the world that were not true. These delusions ran the gamut from dazzling exaltation to blind condemnation, and with each new apparition, her sensitive constitution weakened a little more, and a little more, until a certainty grew in her mind that she had become a danger to those she loved most.

Jennifer’s fear of her illness drove her to take her own life. Her love of life has ensured that her story will continue for as long we have a voice to tell it. The irrationality of her illness and uniqueness of her spirit prevents us from truly understanding why she chose to leave as she did, but she is forgiven. Our love for her is unconditional and irreducible. She cannot be removed from our hearts. We are changed, wonderfully, by the experience of having known her and we are grateful beyond words for the time we had.

Jennie, we love you. Your cremains were scattered upon that same lake in which your father’s ashes reside, and we are firm in our belief in your joyous reunion. Someday, our reunion will be as joyous, if not more, for the earthly peace and beauty that will accompany it. When we meet again, it will be as a whole family and nothing will ever tear us apart again.

Jennifer leaves behind her Mother, Lesa J. Frantz (Key) of Iowa City, Iowa; older brother W. "Jason" Key of Oakland, California; younger brother Timothy B Key of Iowa City, Iowa; her maternal Grandmother Lora Linn (Frantz); maternal aunts Debra Griffis, Barbara Ferland, and Wendy Frantz, all of Iowa City; maternal uncles Mike & Doug Frantz of Hendersonville, North Carolina; Tom Frantz of San Diego, California; Larry Frantz of Charleston, South Carolina and Matt Frantz of Iowa City; as well as numerous cousins, extended family, cherished friends and partners.

Jennie was preceded in death by her father, Steven Gregory Key of Duluth, Georgia, and leaves behind her paternal Grandparents Mr. and Mrs. William G Key of Duluth, Georgia; paternal Aunt Teri Hooson; and paternal cousins Sven and Steffen Hooson, also of Georgia.

A memorial celebration and benefit will be held at Oak Grove Park (at the intersection of South Dodge and Page Streets) on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

A silent auction of some of Jennifer’s artwork, others’ artwork, and other donated products and services will be held the day of the memorial. The auction will close at 8pm and winners notified if they are present, or on the following Monday. All items being auctioned will be posted on this site so that those who cannot attend may bid on items of interest. Please see our silent auction page for more information and instructions.

In addition to the silent auction, donations are being accepted through the Jennifer Key Memorial Fund at the University of Iowa Community Credit Union or through the Paypal link provided in the sidebar of this page.

To those who have contacted us to offer their memories of Jennie and condolences, thank you. Your words and actions have given us all strength when we’ve needed it most. Your share in her memory is as irreducible as ours and we are glad to have held your hands in fellowship and remembrance.

All our Love,

The Family of Jennifer Lorraine Key