Jena Day of Windham, NH, and loving wife of Willie Day, went to sleep on May 19, 2015 at 1:20PM, and awoke in the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus. She died from acute myeloid leukemia after waging a courageous battle against it for almost one year.
Jena was born April 1, 1950 in Manchester, NH, and grew up in Bedford, NH, before moving to Presque Isle, ME, where she graduated from high school in 1968. While in high school, she became a champion swimmer. In her final championship meet she won four of the five races she competed in while finishing second in the other one. After graduation, she attended Fitchburg State Teachers College in Fitchburg, MA. While enrolled there, she met Willie who was in the Army and stationed at Ft. Devens in Ayer, MA. Almost one year after Willie returned from serving in Vietnam, they were married in Burlington, MA on May 29, 1971. They eventually moved to Nashua, NH where she completed her college degree at Rivier College while being a full-time mother to their daughter Kimberly, caring for their home and serving in the church. They relocated to Scottsdale, AZ in 1981 for three and one-half years where their son Jonathan was added to the family. In 1984 they returned to New Hampshire, settling in Windham.
Jena was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother as well as an outstanding homemaker and cook with a special gift of hospitality. Her Greek delicacies such as baklava and spanakopita were especially delicious. She was a talented first soprano vocalist who often sang solos in church and was frequently hired to sing at weddings and funerals. She also was very active with the Nesmith Library and various church food pantries. She was a Team Mom with the Windham Little League, a Den Mother with Pack 266, and a Merit Badge Counselor for Troop 266. She taught both of her children how to swim as well as her first four granddaughters, Brittany, Elizabeth, Rebekah, and Jessica. She was a talented seamstress and specialized at making many different types of Christmas ornaments. She also excelled as a Coupon Queen and shopper as many who know her will attest. She loved working in the yard raising vegetables and planting all sorts of flowers, plants, and trees. Jena had what is known as a “green thumb” and many of her plantings now decorate the lawns of family and friends. She was also an avid reader which eventually led to her interest of volunteering at the Nesmith Library in Windham.
After years of volunteer work at the library, Jena was hired by the Nesmith Library and worked there for over seventeen years. She was first employed as recording secretary for the Nesmith Library Board of Trustees. Three years later she became the Nesmith Library’s Administrative Assistant, a role she filled for 14 and a half years until she was diagnosed with leukemia in July of 2014 and was forced to go on disability. She was a diligent and hard-working employee with a spotless record of clean audits of the Library financials. She was loved and respected by both town and library staff as well as the F.L.O.W. volunteers, Citizen Bank employees and the many vendors with who she interfaced. Jena was especially a favorite of the library patrons who could always count on her greeting them with her radiant smile and warm greeting as well as assist them in whatever manner she could.
The most important thing to know about Jena, however, was her unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior. Jena accepted Jesus as her Savior at the age of 14 when she went forward during the Billy Graham Evangelical Crusade that was held in Manchester, NH in the fall of 1964. As she grew in her faith, she realized that even though she had been baptized as an infant in the Methodist Church, she needed to follow her Lord’s example of full immersion baptism as an adult. In December 1981, she was baptized by full immersion in the Church of Christ by Pastor Terry Phelps.
Jena sat a godly example in both word and deed for both of her children and her oldest grandchildren. She was instrumental in having all of them make their own professions of faith and follow the example full immersion baptism. She was known as a Proverbs 31 woman. She was a loving, giving, encouraging, helpful, positive, and cheerful person who was kind to all she with whom she made contact. She worked hard for her church, husband, children, grandchildren, and employer because she knew she was really working to please her Lord Jesus first and foremost. Truly as it is written of the Proverbs 31 woman, her children rise up and call her blessed as does her husband. In addition, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and future generations will also call her blessed as they remember or hear or read of her life and her faith.
As Jena lay slowly dying, those who cared for her at both Dana Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital marveled at her great faith. She actually encouraged those who cared for her to not be sad or discouraged that she was not improving. She was able to share her faith with many who wondered at her peace despite what was happening to her body. Now she is in the presence of her Lord and she has already heard His “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter now into the joy of thy Lord.” Therefore, even as we sorrow for our loss of her bright spirit from our lives, we rejoice for her life and her eternal reward. We will always have the memory of her bright spirit until we who are also believers will be reunited with her in the eternal state ever to sing of God’s matchless saving grace.
Jena leaves behind Willie, her husband of nearly 44 years; their daughter Kimberly Barlow and her husband Paul of Derry, NH; their son Jonathan and his wife Marissa of Kittery, ME; five granddaughters: Brittany Barlow Riordan and her husband Andrew; Elizabeth Barlow Thompson and her husband Andrew; Rebekah Barlow, Jessica Barlow, Charlotte Day; and her great-grandson, James Thompson. She is also survived by her mother, Leonie Horeanopoulos of Burlington, MA, her brothers Mark Horeanopoulos and his wife Sherry of Princeton, MA, and Kyle Horeanopoulos and his wife Cheryl of Bradford, MA along with three nieces, one nephew and many cousins. Among her extended family are her dear family members in Greece: Anthony, Margaret, Maria, Petros, Lazarus, John, Antonis, Pariskevoula and Dimitra among others. She was preceded in her death by her father, Nicholas Horeanopoulos and her beloved “sister” in Greece, Voula.
The family wishes to offer their heartfelt and sincere thanks to all the staff at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute both in Boston and Londonderry as well as the staff at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for their loving and professional care of our dearest Jena during her trial. We are especially grateful to Dr. David Steensma and his PA Sarah Cahill of Dana Farber as well as her nurses Camille and Ed and her nurse assistant Jaceli who were with her for most of her 90 days of hospitalization at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Our prayer is that they will be richly blessed as they treat the many patients who suffer from this terrible disease and perhaps someday develop a cure. We also wish to thank the staff at the Community Hospice Home in Merrimack, NH who cared for her during her last days on this earth.
Calling hours were held Friday, May 22, 2015 from 4 to 7 pm at the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 290 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, NH. A celebration of her life was held Saturday, May 23rd at 10 am at Manchester Christian Church, 1308 Wellington Road, Manchester, NH. In lieu of flowers, gifts are requested to be made in her memory to the Manchester Christian Church, 1308 Wellington Road, Manchester, NH 03104. Please specify that the gift is to be directed to the church’s ONE Campaign, since Jena was always praying that God would give her ONE person each day with whom to share His great love.