Jennifer Evelyn Sands

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to British parents, Jennifer moved with her mother Christine Mollring to Wyoming at age seven. There, her mother remarried and Jennifer was adopted by her late step-father Ted Mollring, a true Wyoming cowboy. After initially working in oil and gas, Christine got a job with Warner Brothers in Southern California, taking the Mollring family with her. Eventually, the Mollrings moved back to Wyoming, where Christine managed two art galleries in Jackson, a small western town nestled in the shadow of the Grand Tetons. There, the family purchased Trailside Galleries, cementing their commitment to the art business, and launching Jennifer’s career at a young age. Her passion for art had begun in earnest, and would never leave her.

Though Jennifer began high school in Jackson, she graduated from Scottsdale High in Arizona. The Mollrings had opened a second Trailside Galleries location in Scottsdale where Jennifer worked while attending Arizona State University. The family would travel seasonally between Jackson and Scottsdale, exchanging Wyoming winters for desert sun. While studying at ASU, Jennifer would attempt to combine art and marketing degrees. Though sensible given her job was selling art, the idea was ahead of its time and thus refused by both departments. It would not be until many years later, in part due to Jennifer’s counsel, that the school embraced such interdisciplinary curriculums.

Nevertheless, she attained an associate’s degree and became the Phoenix Art Museum’s youngest docent, while continuing her education and working full time at her parents’ gallery. In 1982, Jennifer met Charles Sands, a US Army veteran and rancher from Glendale, Arizona, and by May of 1984 they were married. Wishing to eschew a long commute to Scottsdale, Jennifer left Trailside Galleries and began volunteering with the Glendale Arts Council. This stint commenced a 40+ year career of volunteering for institutions across the country. Jennifer excelled at arranging collaborative events between non-profit organizations, which often cooperated primarily due to her influence.

An exhaustive examination of Jennifer’s contributions to society is impractical to print here, given the scope of her career. In brief below are many of the organizations to which she belonged or contributed her positive energy, wisdom and expertise:

ARCS Foundation; Arizona Historical Society; Arizona Opera; ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts; ASU’s Women and Philanthropy; Boy Scouts of America; Boys Team Charity; The Couse Foundation; Desert Botanical Garden; Desert Caballeros Western Museum; Fan Association of North America; Glendale Arizona Historical Society; Heard Museum; Hospice of the Valley; Junior League of Phoenix; Kentucky Colonel; Las Madrinas; Museum of Northern Arizona; New College of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences at ASU; Phoenix Art Museum; Phoenix Children’s Hospital; Phoenix Symphony; Phoenix Zoo; Rob and Malani Walton Campus of Liberty Wildlife; Sandra Day O’Connor Institute; Tacoma Art Museum; Valley Field Riding and Polo Club; Western Spirit, Scottsdale’s Museum of the West; Zane Grey’s West Society.

Needless to say, one of Jennifer’s defining qualities was generosity, not simply of time and resources, but of her intense and boundless spirit. Her loved ones will miss her persistent sense of justice and integrity, her joyous laughter and mischievous banter that could instantly transform a conversation, and her uncanny sense for what constitutes good (and bad) taste. A connoisseur and maintainer of all things rare, beautiful and profound, Jennifer herself possessed these qualities.

Above her desk, Jennifer kept many reminders, one of which was the following maxim:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

She never verbally prescribed this motto to others. Rather, Jennifer embodied it every day of her life, and transferred it by her example to everyone she met.

She is survived by her husband Charles, her son John, her mother Christine, her brother Christopher, and the countless other family and friends who have witnessed her distinguished journey on this earth.

Jennifer wished to have a small and private celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, or any of the many non-profit organizations to which Jennifer devoted herself.