She is survived by her husband, Eric Burch; her son, Benjamin Hazzard; two step-daughters, Alyssa & Haley Burch; her parents, Paul & Patsy Long; her brother & sister-in-law, Jeff & Danielle Long; niece & nephew, Jada and Jonah Long; and many of cousins.
Jennifer was born and raised in San Diego, California. She went to Lee Elementary and San Diego School of Creative & Performing Arts. She graduated from SDSCPA in 1999. She received her Master’s degree in Behavioral Science in 2014 from National University.
Jennifer was an amazing and loving wife, mother, daughter and friend. She was full of life and was a true friend to all she met. She was a great woman of faith, believing that love was the key to faith, and she loved fiercely! She loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and shared it with everyone she came in contact with. She was a lioness…fiercely devoted to family. She had strength of character, tough with a tender heart especially toward the things of the Lord.
As a wife she was always there for Eric and was very supportive. She always enjoyed spending time together, that’s what made her happy. She was a very loving and caring wife and would always try to put his needs before hers. She was a wonderful person and a blessing to him. “I can say that I was a lucky person to have gotten the time that I did.”
Her world was raising her son Ben. Her goal and desire for him was to be a strong Christian and a loving human being (and to take plenty of showers!); she was so proud of him. Ben loved it when she would come home from work, get comfy on the couch, and start watching her favorite TV shows, then she would say, “all done pants”—meaning she was ready to veg or take a nap. Growing up and even as a teenager he loved to cuddle with her and watch movies. They watched hundreds and could quote so many scenes, and just laugh about it.
Jennifer loved her step-daughters like her own. She always believed in Haley, helping her discover her faith and make it her own. She taught her to love others and to always trust God. To Alyssa, she was a stepmom who took her under her wings, and taught her that it’s ok to take some time for herself, aka “take a nap”. Jennifer always put others before herself. Even when she was really sick, she still would ask Alyssa how she was doing and if she needed anything.
Jennifer was a beautiful, precious, loving daughter, and best friend. She was always there for her mom and dad, helping when and where she was needed. It was not uncommon for her to call or text several times a day to say hi, share her day, or just to ask “what’cha doing?” Growing up, and as an adult, she was sassy and outspoken, but was hilarious while doing it. Not many people could pull that off like Jenn.
As a sister, she was loving, caring, and faithful. She would always be the first to call Jeff, if he didn’t call her as often as she wanted. At the same time, she was competitive and could be a little aggressive on the road; they would compete about almost everything. She would win some; Jeff would win some. But at the end of the day, they both knew they would have tomorrow and another time to compete again. The last time they spoke she said “you know I’m the favorite”. “You are Jennifer. You are my favorite.”
As a friend, she became the voice of reason to so many who reached out to her, sharing her love and concern. Once you became her friend, you were her friend for life and you knew she cared for you. She was always an encourager; she was behind you to support and stand up for you.
She was devoted to and loved working with children with disabilities. She had so much passion and patience for them and their families. Even as a single mom for many years, she stayed true to her passion, and worked her way through getting her Master’s degree. She benefited others in her field by sharing her knowledge on how to help these children.
Jennifer embodied the Proverbs 31 woman. She will be missed beyond words, but we know she is in heaven, wrapped in the arms of Jesus, and looking down on us saying, “Trust God and all things will work out…and get on up here because it’s Amazing!!”
All services are pending at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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