Jennifer Marberger Brothers
Jennifer Marberger Brothers eased into immortality on January 6, 2024, after 60 years of love, compassion, and grace. Born in Chicago, IL on the first of April 1963, she was nobody’s fool. Raised in Ogden, she was a beacon of mindfulness and creativity, known for her caring and thoughtful approach to life. She was a woman of many talents and accomplishments, including a Sterling Scholar at Ogden High School (class of 1981), a Spencer W Kimball Scholar at BYU (class of 1984), an empathetic therapist and social worker, and skilled artist and musician. Most importantly, she partnered with her husband, Ken, whom she married in 1983, as they raised four children as they lived in the Washington, DC area between 1985 and 2018. After she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the age of 54, her family moved back to Utah and Jennifer resided at memory care facilities in Layton, Utah.
In her professional life, Jennifer was a talented designer who worked in the creative side of advertising and commercial design in the 1980s. She helped establish supplemental art programs at five different schools in the Washington, DC area. In the 2000s, Jennifer began working with adolescents in crisis, which led to her earning a Master of Social Work from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Jennifer was an award-winning watercolor artist and a skilled musician on the silver and spirit flute; she led groups in art and music therapy, organized djembe drum circles, and taught clinics at schools and non-profit organizations in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. She was a dedicated social worker who ceaselessly provided mindful service to others. Jennifer loved to share her creative spirit with others, making her an inspiration to hundreds of students, clients, friends and family.
Jennifer’s life was a testament to her compassion and thoughtfulness. She was a woman of faith and provided lifelong service to her neighbors and community as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved to serve and worship in the temple. She believed in prayer and in her years of illness often asked those around her to pray with her. She had a deep and abiding respect for the Lakota culture and participated in sweat lodges, drum circles, and sun dances. What mattered most to her was raising her four children with her husband, Ken Brothers. She is survived by her husband Ken, who moved back to Huntsville when she entered memory care, her daughters Chelsea Slade (Josh; Huntsville, Utah) and Kirsten Brightman (Jason; Parker, Colorado), her sons Spencer Brothers (Layton, Utah) and Garrett Brothers (Salt Lake City, Utah), her father and stepmother, Douglas and Liz Marberger (Uintah, Utah), her sister, Jamie Campbell (Brad; Enoch, Utah), half-siblings Adam Marberger (Heidi; Salt Lake City, Utah), Jack Marberger (Kristen; South Ogden, Utah), Abby Cragun (Chet; Layton, Utah), and her 7 grandchildren. Jennifer was preceded in death by her mother, Narlene Baird.
Jennifer loved travel and adventure. After she and Ken graduated from college, they spent a summer backpacking through 14 European countries. She frequently returned to Europe with family and friends. She loved exploring the Mayan ruins in Yucatán and Peru, witnessing the wonders of God’s creations on safaris to South Africa and Botswana, and delighting in the diversity of the Galapagos. She and Ken were certified scuba divers and they enjoyed exploring reefs and wrecks in the Caribbean. She looked forward to basking on ocean beaches and collecting seashells from different states and countries. Years later, she could pick up one of her shells and identify the beach and date of its discovery.
Some of our best memories with Jennifer were days boating on Lake Anna in central Virginia with the family poodle, Nephi. She made a dynamite chicken broccoli casserole. She kept a paper planner her entire life and reveled in her analog methods. She earned a black belt in taekwondo in her 40s. She tolerated Ken’s awful puns to beyond a reasonable degree. She would laugh until she cried while watching “Whose Line is it Anyway?” We will forever miss our sweet wife and mother.
Jennifer’s life was a symphony of love, creativity, and service. Her legacy will live on in the hearts of those she touched with her art, her music, her service, and her kindness. Those who knew Jennifer are encouraged to share their memories and upload photos to her memorial page as a tribute to her vibrant life. Let’s keep the memory of Jennifer alive and celebrate the remarkable life she led.
Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at Myers Mortuary, 845 Washington Blvd., Ogden, UT, a viewing will be held prior from 9:30 to 10:30 am. Interment, Ben Lomond Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Chris Atwood Foundation (www.thecaf.org).
Condolences may be sent to the family at https://www.myers-mortuary.com/obituary/Jennifer-Brothers-1#obituary.
Published on January 8, 2024 in the Ogden Standard Examiner
