Jennifer Rowan

Jennifer Anne Kingsley Rowan, of Nashville, Tennessee, died peacefully on November 11, 2015 after a valiant battle with cancer. She is survived by her high school sweetheart and husband of 55 years, Ben Hardin Rowan II, her four children: Cathy Rowan East (Van), Trisha Rowan MacIntyre (Mike), Ben Rowan III (Julie) and Debbie Rowan, and nine grandchildren: Van East IV, Kingsley East, Jennifer MacIntyre, Jay MacIntyre, Jonston MacIntyre, Katelyn Rowan, Lizzie Rowan, Maggie Rowan and Ben Rowan IV. Jenny, the only child of John Donald Kingsley and Alice Whiteman Boyd, was born on June 28, 1941 in Dayton, Ohio. She grew up in the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio and moved to Nashville when she was 11 years old. She graduated in 1959 from Peabody Demonstration School, where she met and fell in love with her husband, Ben. After attending one year at Emory University, Jenny and Ben were married in 1960 at Immanuel Baptist Church, where Jenny was baptized at nineteen. They have been very active members for 55 years and are current members of the Liston Mills Sunday school class. Jenny attended classes at Vanderbilt University and O'More College of Design and raised four children before returning to college where she received her B.A. in Fine Art from Lipscomb University at the age of 61. Jenny dedicated her life to her family as a loving wife, nurturing mother, and endearing grandmother. She and her husband built a lifetime of wonderful memories with them at Rock Island and Amelia Island Plantation in Florida. Most of her life she pursued creative interests, studying art, architecture and stained glass. After her four children left home, Jenny owned her own business, Village Fabrics in Hillsboro Village. Ben and Jenny had many friends with whom they enjoyed travelling. She especially enjoyed travelling abroad to Scotland, London, the Mediterranean and Russia. While Jenny is known for her generous, gentle spirit, her family cherishes her for her toughness, inner strength and deep faith in God, which she leaves as her legacy. A funeral service will be held on Sunday, November 15 at two-thirty in the afternoon at Immanuel Baptist Church on Belle Meade Boulevard, followed by a private burial for family and close friends. Visitation will be held before the funeral on Sunday from twelve-thirty until time of service in the “Chapel Room” of Immanuel Baptist Church. To honor her memory, the family asks that donations be given to Immanuel Baptist Church, Brentwood Academy, or Alive Hospice.