Friend and colleague, Jennifer Gardner passes peacefully at home with family.

Our dear friend and colleague, Jennifer Gardner, passed away peacefully on New Year’s Day 2019, surrounded by her family and loved ones.   She touched our lives profoundly and we are grateful for the time we had with her, the opportunity to work alongside her, to experience her generosity and her wisdom and to share our lives together.  We will miss her greatly and we are sending our love and heartfelt condolences to her whole family especially to her mother Leila, her brother Stewart, and her children Griffin and Leila.

Jen, you are full of passion, beauty, humor, sass, kindness, wisdom, adventure, and love for humans and animals and earth.... your collection of family, friends and pets are broad and colorful.... so much love is being sent to you from all over our island community and beyond....and so much gratitude for having you in our lives....all of your Tea Lane family will miss you.

The following obituary was published in the Martha's Vineyard Gazette and the MV Times yesterday.  There will be a memorial service at a later date.

From the Martha's Vineyard Gazette:

Jennifer Gardner, Vibrant Athlete, EMT and Entrepreneur, Dies at 54

Wednesday, January 2, 2019 - 2:32pm

Jennifer Gardner died on the afternoon of Jan. 1 after a long and valiant fight against an inoperable brain tumor. She died at her beloved West Tisbury home in the company of family and friends.

Jennifer touched many lives in her 54 years.

She was always ready to help people and animals in need. She was a volunteer emergency medical technician for Tri-Town Ambulance for 10 years.

She was a successful entrepreneur who ran Summer Solstice in Tisbury while also raising two young children. She later segued to a successful career at Tea Lane Associates, where she cherished her co-workers and regarded them as family.

Jennifer was an outstanding athlete — an expert skier who also excelled at tennis, cycling, and wind surfing. A true Island girl, she also was the longtime record holder of the Ag Fair skillet toss.

She loved Martha’s Vineyard and knew every inch of the Island.

She was a consummate chef who got great joy out of feeding gatherings at her large dining room table.

She was an alumnus of Berkshire School and the University of Vermont.

Jennifer never stopped fighting the unbeatable foe that took her from us far too soon. Through it all, she never lost her sense of humor. She managed to smile to the very end, and nothing made her smile more than the love and affection that her children showered on her.

She is survived by her children, Griffin and Leila Gardner; her brother Stuart; her father Douglass and mother Leila McCarter, and their respective spouses, Josie Gardner, Connie Gardner and John McCarter. She is also survived by a stepbrother Nate Gardner, her partner Barry Stringfellow and her devoted dogs, Kaya and Luna.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.