Shortly before the end she told me she got everything she’d ever wanted, and what more could any of us hope for. She had an insatiable curiosity, and she spent her life pushing boundaries and traveling the world.

Born on April 26, 1946, she grew up in Lexington, raised by her mother, Jane Irving Jenks, and her father William A. Jenks, head of the History Department at Washington and Lee University. With their parents, she and her darling brother Tom traveled and lived abroad and enjoyed all that Lexington had to offer when at home.

After graduating from Sweet Briar College, she married and spent her adult life abroad, working with the Department of Defense Education Activity. She left a huge piece of her heart in Izmir, Turkey, but also spent many incredibly happy years in Germany and Italy, traveling as much as possible.

Upon her retirement, she moved back to Lexington, which she lovingly referred to as Brigadoon. She spent the last 19 years here, making more memories with her oldest friends, connecting with new ones, keeping busy with the Marshall Foundation, English Speaking Union, her Pearl Girls, the Yo-Yo Sisterhood, working on the Kendal newsletter and just generally living life in her hometown. She continued to travel for as long as she could – her last big adventures took her to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Morocco and Vietnam.

She taught me everything I know about being a mom, and every day I wonder how she made it seem so effortless.

She leaves behind me (her daughter, Kendra Emerson Kilburn), as well as her son-in-law, John Kilburn, her granddaughter Addison Kilburn, and countless friends from all chapters of her life.

In lieu of flowers, she requested donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or Doctors Without Borders, organizations she spent many years supporting.

A few weeks ago she promised to come back and haunt me, but in a nice way. Until then, Mummers. I ’ll miss you forever.