Jennifer Marie Slade, 55 (Jenny to her oldest friends), died unexpectedly in Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday, July 17, 2014.
The daughter of Robert W. and Kennetha A. Slade of Poughkeepsie, NY, she was born on July 11, 1959. After showing early promise as an actress and singer, Jennifer appeared in productions of South Pacific, Briagdoon, and others at Clarkstown (NY) High School, from which she graduated in 1977, going on to pursue acting at NYU and as a student of Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio. She took a BA in Theater Arts in 1981 while living, as she delighted to point out, in the same hotel-turned-dorm as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. During her subsequent acting career she brought countless actors and other friends to her tiny apartment on Christopher Street for her celebrated daylong Thanksgiving dinners, which became a touchstone for her fondest memories of New York.
A birthright Unitarian Universalist subsequently called to the ministry, Jennifer attended Harvard Divinity School, taking her M.Div. in 1990. Having interned at the Winchester [Massachusetts] Unitarian Society, where she was ordained in 1991, she completed her Clinical Pastoral Training at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, afterward accepting a call to serve the Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Greenville, SC (lovingly called GUUF). She grew Greenville’s congregation and shepherded them to a new, larger facility where they remain to this day. After spending her 2000 sabbatical as a Merrill Fellow at Harvard and moving with her family to Durham, NC, Jennifer served the Red Hill Universalist Church in Clinton, NC and the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Durham, and worked within the Durham County Library system. She was known for her excellence in both pastoral care and preaching.
Jennifer took on the difficult work of Interim Ministry beginning in 2011 with the Congregational Unitarian Church in Woodstock, IL (now Tree of Life UU Church in McHenry, IL). Here she also guided the church to a larger facility commensurate with its growth, particularly in Religious Education.
In 2013, Jennifer began a developmental ministry at the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, VA, where she hoped to move the congregation to higher ground, literally and figuratively, as rising tides regularly flooded the church.
Wherever she served, her ministry touched countless lives and she strived to bring out those good qualities of her congregants they didn’t even know they had. She was generous, gregarious, brilliant, beyond well-read, and had an incredible memory for the events in the lives of her loved ones.
Her service on numerous boards and committees included The Urban League of the Upstate (SC), the UU World of Children, and organizations on addiction in NC and SC, including the Sampson County (NC) Meth Taskforce, among many others.
Jennifer, who suffered from depression, died of an apparent overdose of prescription drugs. She is survived by her husband, John Santoianni; son, Samuel J. Santoianni; daughter, Emma M. Santoianni; brother, K. Sean Slade; sisters in law, Rachel L. Slade, Lois A. Sans, Jeanne R. Century (Michael S. Weisman), and Joan Santoianni; brothers in law, Michael P. Normandin, and James M. Santoianni; nieces, Samara Ruberg and Rachel K. Sans (Christian J. Palmer); nephews, Kenan C. Slade and Reuben W. C. Slade; and grandnephews, Seamus M. Mone, Damian J. Palmer, and Jacoby N. Palmer.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 2nd at 3:00 p.m. at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 4907 Garrett Rd, Durham, NC, the Rev. Deborah Cayer officiating. Receptions will follow at the fellowship and at the family home.
The family wishes to thank the congregation of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk for their loving generosity, the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for hosting her memorial service, and many friends and neighbors whose support has been of great comfort.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jennifer’s name to The UU World of Children, 1135 State Park Rd., Greenville, SC 29609, or go to http://www.montessoriworldofchildren.com/giving.html to donate online.
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I was privileged to serve on the Board of the UU church here in Woodstock when Jennifer served as our interim minister. She was a bright, shining light and helped our congregation move forward into our new church building. She was a friendly warm presence as well s being very intelligent and funny. She will be missed by me and many others in our congregation.
For all who shared a moment with Rev. Slade and to all who have been touched by her presence, permit me to share a thought with you.
DEATH THOUGHT
The DEATH of a loved one can never be explained. The empty, void, spaceless feelings prevail forever. Nothing or no one can fill the place in one’s life.
The eternal question “Why?” rings soundlessly within one’s mind. It is the never answered question. Physical, medical and other defined sciences provide no answer.
Three primary virtues spring-forth from the Death-Moment: Hope, Joy and Courage.
Hope provides the vision to move
forward. It lets strength fill one’s
being. It lets one see beyond the
Moment.
Joy fills the mind with peaceful
memories; recalling daily the times
shared.
For Courage, no one has described it
better than Maya Angelou, “Courage
is the most important of allvirtues.
Because if you haven’t courage, you
may not have an opportunity to use
any of the others.”
With the most focused energypossible,
I share these thoughts with you.
John Whitley, Williamsburg UU
My wife and I attend the UU church in Newport News, VA and had the privilege of meeting Jennifer and hearing her speak at a recent service there. I remember that we felt both inspired and moved by her message and felt very loved and by and connected to her as she spoke. It is a sad thing to have lost her and pause for thought as to the ravages of depressive illness…