Jennica Kimberly Mancarella

There is only one word that fully describes Jennica Kimberly McMillan Mancarella and that word is beauty. When you saw her, your immediate response was “she’s so beautiful.” Once you got to know her you said, “what a beautiful person.” Beauty is what she exuded and it is beauty that she has left us to continue in her wake to brighten the dimness that she has left in her absence.

Our beloved Jennica was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 25, 1989 to Timothy and Ava Gabrielle McMillan. She was a beautiful baby with a head full of thick black curls, that she didn’t want anybody to comb – that never changed. For as long as anyone can remember, her favorite song was “I Won’t Complain” and though she couldn’t carry a note in a bucket, if she heard it, she was going to belt it out loud and completely off key. “I Won’t Complain” was Jennica’s life mantra.

Jennica loved caring for those around her. From an early age we knew Jennica was born to be the best wife and mother in the world. Her late grandmother Ruth nicknamed her Julia Child because she was cooking full meals before she was old enough to reach the top of stove. She was a middle child, but she was the one who always looked after her siblings. Timara, Jennica and Tim operated as a single unit until they were school-aged. One teacher said that she could not take all three of them because they finished one another’s sentences and completed each other’s tasks. In Jennica’s eyes, love conquered all with her siblings. And it even extended to her nephews and nieces to whom she was the aunt that was more like a mom. When her niece Jaela was born, she refused to allow her to go to a babysitter or daycare but demanded that she be kept at home with family. She called her nephew Elias her son and his mother just had to deal with it.

Educated mostly in Vestavia Hill, Jennica was a multi-faceted creative who modeled until she was 9 years old. Many of her images published in national publications long after she no longer worked. If she could imagine it, she could design it and then she could make it. At the age of 28 Jennica returned to the University of Alabama to pursue her degree in Fashion Design only after she had done the most important thing to her: getting married and starting a family. Already self-taught, Jennica excelled in her studies, even making the Dean’s list multiple semesters. One of her designs were featured in the Hedy Strand: Inspirations of the Past exhibit that featured inspired fashion of Jennica and seven other students based upon the designs of Holocaust victim Hedy Strand. Jennica’s design captured the admiration and accolades of some of the top fashion minds in the nation.

The love of her life bloomed on a computer which makes sense for two extremely nerdy tech geeks. She would talk to him for hours on end while he was on deployment in war torn lands. When he came home with his scars from battle she was there to heal him and ultimately save him. God knew that Jennica’s tiny frame held more love than one family could manage. It is not possible to put into words how much she loved her family. Jennica was not just a Mom. In classic Jennica form, she was a seemingly effortless super Mom. She baked all of the cookies, made all of the costumes, imagined the most amazing activities and then carried them out flawlessly.

She leaves to cherish every beautiful memory and continue her profoundly inspiring legacy her husband Orazio, children Sophia, Oliver and Haley; her parents Timothy McMillan and Ava Gabrielle-Wise; sister and absolute best friend Timara McMillan; sister Davada Davis; brothers Timothy McMillan and Jalen McMillan; uncles Malachi and Henry; aunt Iyesha; and a host of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles, friends, and loved ones.

Visitation will be held at Johns-Ridout's Funeral Parlor's Church Chapel, March 7, 2020 at 11:00 PM with a Celebration of Life Service starting at 1:00 PM.