Jennifer Sarah Dinaburg passed away peacefully at home surrounded by friends and family, in Longmont, Colo., on April 26, 2012, after a seventeen-month battle with adrenal cancer. Jenn was born on July 18, 1980, in Amsterdam, N.Y.
Jenn was raised in Gloversville and attended Mayfield School District. She graduated from the Berkshire School in Massachusetts, where she was valedictorian. She held a degree in Chinese from Connecticut College, a master's degree in environmental studies from Prescott College, and was pursuing a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado. She was a recipient of the prestigious Fullbright-Hays doctoral dissertation fellowship.
Jenn is survived by: her husband, Chance Traub of Longmont, Colo.; her father, Richard Dinaburg of Bayonne, N.J.; her mother, Julia Anne Rockefeller of Wilton, N.Y.; her sister, Rebecca Dinaburg Lewis, and niece, Violet Lewis and nephew, Gibson Lewis of Bellingham, Wash.; and brother, Josh Dinaburg of Baltimore, Md.
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Ms.?Dinaburg
Jenn was passionate about the environment, the outdoors, and about China, she traveled and worked extensively on the Tibetan Plateau. Her Ph.D. program was studying the commercialization of Tibetan medicinal plants in China's northwest Yunnan Province. Jenn brought a love of mountains, travel, and unconventional learning to the her work, where she was well-loved for her intelligence, sense of humor, wit and spirit. Cancer interrupted Jenn's plans, but did not stop her from continuing with her pursuit of the Ph.D. She completed most of her comprehensive exams while undergoing chemotherapy, and continued to plan her research in Yunnan.
Through her illness, she also discovered a field for exploration and personal growth much closer to home as she spent more time with her close friends and family, especially with her husband, Chance. We will all miss her dearly.
A memorial was held in Lyons, Colo., on May 1, and another celebration of her life will be held in the Adirondacks on July 18.
In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted in Jenn's name at HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties, www.hospicecareonline.org. In addition, all three of her schools: Berkshire, Connecticut College, and the University of Colorado are in the process of setting up scholarship funds in her name.