Plan for the Future
Joan Susan Jennings, nee Bishop, of Chatham, passed away on August 4, 2020, after a long battle with cancer. She was 58.
She was born on February 20, 1962 to parents Jim and Sue Bishop in New Jersey. Joan graduated from Scotch Plains Fanwood High School in 1980 and received her B. A. in Engineering from Lafayette College in 1984, where she graduated as one of very few female Engineering majors in her class. She married Bob Jennings in 1989.
During her professional life, Joan was an underwriting manager, HR manager, loss control engineer and consultant at Chubb & Son Inc. Joan was a gifted athlete and was most at home on a platform tennis or volleyball court. She shared her love of sports with her children, attending their various games throughout their lives and coaching her daughter in field hockey. She was a devoted mother and wife, and treasured all of her friends and Sigma Kappa sorority sisters. Joan’s laugh carried across parking lots, and she always made those around her smile. She was one of the most thoughtful people imaginable, often putting her needs aside to take care of others. Joan was an active part of her community and volunteered at Bridges Outreach, Chatham Schools, and the Community Foodbank. Joan was extremely positive and strong, especially while facing her cancer diagnosis, where her ability to look on the bright side never failed. She was loved and supported by friends and family during her diagnosis, and she could often be found wearing her Lafayette leopard spots. She was always prepared, even leaving instructions for her family about what to do in the event that she passed away. She was a dog lover, having grown up with a dog, and loving our family dogs. She wanted those who are mourning her to know that she is deeply grateful for their presence in her life, and she is now looking out for them up above.
Joan is survived by her husband, Bob; children, Rob and Michelle Jennings; brother, Craig Bishop; and sister, Beth O’Boyle. She was predeceased by father Jim Bishop and mother Sue Bishop.
