Our beautiful Jen: Over 30 years ago, you started down a path that ended now. We’re sure you didn’t know the danger, or the years of pain you would endure, when you took that first pill. You were just a teenager, looking for a reprieve from the pain of life.
In the early 1990s, we didn’t want to talk about those pills. You were the problem, even though you were just a kid. You were to blame for not having the strength to battle the drugs designed to addict you. You were weak for not conquering the demons that caged you. You lost close friends and family, and those losses sunk you further into the sadness that kept you hooked.
You struggled — for years. And by the time treatment was readily available and you could stop living in the shadow of your addiction, your life had irreparably changed. Gone was your dream of being a teacher and living in a house with children and a white picket fence. Opiates had stressed your relationships, stolen your friendships and destroyed your life.
But here’s what opiates didn’t take: your ineffable kindness. Your deep-seated goodness. Your huge heart (which was way too big for your five-foot-two frame). Your infectious laugh. The hilarious way you didn’t get half the jokes we told you. The not-so-hilarious way you drove a car. Your hugs that made us feel like the most loved people on the planet. Your sense of style and knack for dressing like a million bucks on zero budget. Your beautiful long brown curly hair. And your love for your family, especially for Jeff and your nieces and nephew.
Some will say that an obituary shouldn’t be the place for commentary on the opiate crisis. But you are a casualty of that crisis. You wouldn’t have died but for opiates, and we wouldn’t be writing this if it weren’t for the drug companies that made billions off of addicting people exactly like you. You join the thousands of Vermonters who have lost their lives to their greed. This isn’t to say you weren’t responsible for your actions. You were. But the drug companies are complicit in your death. When they knowingly sell a poison that alters people’s brains and impairs their ability to make good decisions, they are as responsible as the people who take that poison.
You will be deeply missed by your parents, John and Deanna Edwards of St. Albans; your sister, Wendy L. Fuller of St. Albans; and your brothers, Matthew C. Fuller of Clayton, N.C., Jeffrey Fuller of Craftsbury, Vt., and Jonathan Edwards of Stuart, Fla. Norah, Asa and Addie will forever remember their Aunt Jenny, and all of your aunts, uncles and cousins, especially Lisa Paige, will miss you and mourn your journey through this life.
We hope you have found peace and are finally reunited with Dad, a man you grieved every single day for the past 37 years. Rest easy, Jen. We will always love you.
Our family welcomes you to join us at the Goss Life Celebration Home, 89 Grand Ave. in Swanton, on Sunday, April 18, 2021, from 2 to 4 p.m. A private burial will follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Jen’s name to a place she loved: Turning Point of Burlington, 179 S. Winooski Ave., Suite 301, Burlington, VT 05401, or online at turningpointcentervt.org.
Goss Life Celebration Homes is the area’s exclusive provider of life celebration events. Please visit our website to share condolences, photos and favorite memories at gossfs.com.
This article appears in The Cannabis Issue 2021.
As a recovering addict with 6 yrs sober reading this was like reading about my life just a few short years ago. Prayers to the family, I hope she has found her peace now
I didn’t know Jen but wanted to wish you all peace and my deepest condolences. I lost my brother to underlying causes of substance abuse just over a month ago. I’m so sorry that you too carry this story, and I hope we can find our way forward as a society.
So incredibly sorry for the family, and for Jen’s struggles over the years. I am a close friend of Jen’s aunt and uncle, Sharon and Paul Corologos, and will include them in my prayers for Jennifer’s peace and rest and for her family’s strength and recovery.
I offer you my deepest sympathy for the loss of Jennifer. Through the words written with love it is clear she had a beautiful soul and is loved dearly by her family. Thank you for having the courage to be open and honest about Jennifers struggles with addiction. Sending prayers for peace, comfort and healing. ~Tara Reil
I am so sorry for your loss. Jen’s bright light that shined from her will continue to shine again. The pain that opiates takes away is nothing in comparison to the pain that it has caused to people, families and our community. I am so sad to know that she struggled with this for so many years.
I didn’t know Jenny for very long, but I’m blessed to have been her friend for the short time we spent together. We shared some of our deepest, darkest stories with each other and she always showed me a level of empathy and compassion that is hard to come by. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to support one another for a time. She meant more to me than she knew.
My deepest condolences to the many people who loved Jenny, especially her family. Thank you so much for having the courage to share her powerful, poignant story with the world. It is so important for people to know that she was much more than her addiction. Beyond all else, she was a woman with a soul filled with brilliant, loving light. Even through her tragic life circumstances, the pain that they caused and the battles she fought trying to navigate through it all… she still had room in her heart to give as much love as she could to the people around her. She was a true diamond in the rough and she will be missed by everyone whose lives she touched.
Thanks for telling it like it is.