Jennifer Yolanda Blair

Jennifer Yolanda Blair was born on January 15, 1983 in Kingston, Jamaica to Joan Martin and Hopeton Francis. Shortly after, she was adopted by a cousin, Izett Blair and his wife, Victoria. Jennifer moved to the Silver Spring, Maryland at the age of 4 in 1987.

Jennifer attended Montgomery County schools at Montgomery Knolls, Pine Crest, Eastern, and Blair. She was a good student and was proud that she never missed a day of school from Kindergarten to 5th Grade. She participated in Gifted and Talented programs befitting her intelligence. She was a member of Odyssey of the Mind teams, a problem-solving competition requiring teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking skills. She was also a Brownie and later a Girl Scout.

Jennifer was talented in other ways. After watching a Sesame Street program featuring Yitzak Perlman, she insisted on learning to play the violin. For 8 years, she participated in the D. C. Youth Orchestra Program playing the violin. She showed great talent and promise as a musician. Jennifer was also a talented dancer. She studied ballet and modern dance. At age 11, she was chosen to attend a summer program in New York City sponsored by the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. She loved music and worshipped Michael Jackson.

As a young child, Jennifer insisted on doing many self-care tasks by herself, with little help as she wanted to be “a pendent girl”. This independent spirit and creativity continued as she got older. Jennifer was a true entrepreneur at heart, happily wearing many professional hats and diving into numerous business ventures over the years. She studied cosmetology learning hair and nail care. She worked as a security guard in several establishments. Jennifer drove for Ride On for several years and had many stories to share about her experiences. As an independent businesswoman, she operated an ice cream truck, a hot dog stand, as a driver for Uber and DoorDash, along with collecting and charging electric scooters for Lime.

Jennifer experienced personal battles during adolescence and young adulthood which fueled a passion for supporting friends and loved ones through hard times. She is remembered by best friend, Keana, as someone who was always willing to help, to listen, to be there. She made friends easily and maintained long standing friendships, to which Sara can attest.

Jennifer leaves many to cherish her memory. Among these are her five children: Christian, Jenna, Jada, Damion, and Jennifer, Jr, her biological mother, Joan Martin, her adoptive mother, Victoria Blair, her sisters, Carol, MaKeeda, and Zanaba; her brothers, Carlando and Zende; her beloved grandmother, Cherry; her cherished aunties, uncles, cousins, four nephews, two nieces, and dear friends. Jennifer was preceded in death by her brother, Calrick, and father, Izett Blair.

Visitation will be held at Fort Lincoln Funeral Home, 3401 BLADENSBURG RD, BRENTWOOD, MD 20722, US, on July 29, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, and again on July 30, 2026, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm.

A Celebration of Life will take place at Fort Lincoln Funeral Home, 3401 BLADENSBURG RD, BRENTWOOD, MD 20722, US, on July 30, 2026, from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm, with live stream available at https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/c26079515767922.

A Committal Service will follow at Fort Lincoln Cemetery, 3401 BLADENSBURG RD, BRENTWOOD, MD 20722, US, on July 30, 2026, from 2:30 pm to 2:45 pm.