Jennifer A. Abramczyk

Jennifer passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, on September 9, 2020, after a long battle with ovarian cancer.  Jennifer faced her disease with an incredible amount of strength and determination; knowing that every surgery and every round of chemo would buy her more time with her loving husband, Tom, and her daughters Julia and Emma.  Being their mother was the greatest joy of her life, and her pride in them is endless.  She hopes that all of you will remind them daily how very much she loves them.

It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear or despair, but the strength to conquer them.  Jennifer Abramczyk was the epitome of courage, not just in how she faced her battle with ovarian cancer, but how she lived every day of her life. Growing up, Jennifer learned how to love, how to parent, the importance of traditions, and the value of courage from her parents, John and Maryann Hiller, from her sister Melanie, and from her extended family full of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  She recognized the importance of courage in raising a family early on; she remembers her father going back to school, and moving their family across the country, to California, to provide a better life for her and her little sister, Melanie.

Jennifer valued her family more than anything else in her life.  In her final days, she shared precious stories about growing up surrounded by the most wonderful family she could have ever hoped for.  She reminisced about family vacations that were never luxurious, but always fun and full of adventure. The hours spent playing with her uncles who always made the kids feel special, singing Christmas carols on her nana’s staircase, and she laughed as she told the story about Uncle Ed coming to rescue her when she needed a new car battery.  Jen cherished the memories of uninterrupted family time that they had Up North at Otsego Lake, Crystal Mountain and Traverse City with her parents, and sister’s family.  Growing up with cousins was one of her favorite memories and she is grateful that her children have been raised with their cousins.  On a family trip to Florida in 2018, her nephew, Tyler, said that he wished they could do this every year!   She was profoundly aware of how much her parents, and sister, have helped over the last four years, and found great solace in knowing that her beautiful daughters, Julia and Emma, would be surrounded by, and supported by, her loving family, and friends, when her time to go had come.

Growing up surrounded by so much love, Jennifer began to dream of the future she wanted; knowing that she wanted to be a wife, a mother, and to find a career that would enable her to make the world a better place for others.  She graduated from North Farmington High School in 1989 with dreams of becoming a nurse after college.  She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in psychology in 1993 and went on to Saginaw Valley State University to earn her nursing degree in 1997.

While Jennifer was courageously completing her course work to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse, another dream fell into place.  While enjoying a night out in Royal Oak, she met a handsome young man named Tom.  She was there with her nursing friends, and he was there with his rugby team.  They talked, and danced, but the evening was growing late and the bar was closing.  When Tom asked for her number, Jennifer simply said, “I am staying with my Dad, John Hiller, in Farmington Hills, if you’d like to look me up.”  As the story goes, Tom spent the entire ride home repeating, “John Hiller, Farmington Hills” in his head.  Tom knew that he was leaving for graduate school in Indiana, and said to his friend, “I have one month to make her fall in love with me!”  Little did they know that their first date would be the next evening and that it would lead to a lifetime of love, adventure, and happiness.

“I am so lucky that I married him!  I am a better person because of him, and I hope that everyone knows how much I loved him!  It is not fun to have a wife with cancer, but he has supported me the whole time.  He still tells me that I am beautiful.  I will love him forever.”  Jennifer admired Tom for his love of adventure; whether they were exploring Europe, whale watching, or white water rafting, they made a great team!  Tom would do the planning and Jennifer would manage the logistics to bring the plan to life.  Jennifer hopes that Tom and the girls will have the courage to continue making memories together while exploring all that this wonderful world has to offer.

While their early years were full of extravagant adventures, their best years were spent raising their daughters. Words do not exist to explain how much love Jennifer had for Julia and Emma.  From the day that she became a mother, her goal was to provide the best upbringing possible for them.  Early on, Jennifer decided to work the night shift so that she would be home with the girls during the day.  This decision enabled her to do what she loved the most in her life; to be a mom.  Working nights meant that she could drive the girls to school, sew Halloween costumes, arrange neighborhood parties, and be their Girl Scout leader.  It also meant that she was tired.  A lot!  She laughed as she shared stories of falling asleep while eating her breakfast, and “ that one time ,” when she slept through her alarm and was late picking the girls up from school.  She wants you to know that “Given the chance, I would do it all over again!”

They loved to travel together as a family; whether it was quick camping trips north to Traverse City, or Tahquamenon Falls, they always had fun.  Jennifer’s favorite family trip was when they went to Yellowstone; they squeezed more fun into those days than some experience in a lifetime! The girls became Jr. Rangers as they went horseback riding, white water rafting, and hiking.  Another great family trip was to Mammoth Caves and the Smoky Mountains.  Jenifer was always up for adventure, even when it meant riding a horse, which she was allergic to, or almost falling into the river while rafting.

Jennifer was exceedingly proud of her girls; of all that they have become, and all that they will become.  “It seems like yesterday that I was dropping Julia off at three-year-old preschool.  She threw her hands in the air and ran, screaming, towards the exit! In the blink of an eye, she was the Color Guard Captain, has graduated from high school, and is heading to MSU in the Fall!  Emma was our quiet one, she always went with the flow.  Over the last few years, it has been my greatest joy to watch her develop a strong internal drive to achieve her dreams.  She is the section leader for the Drum Line and will graduate next spring.” Julia and Emma, your mom’s greatest hope for both of you is that you will continue to follow your dreams and work hard to obtain your goals. She knows you will do well.  She knows that you are in good hands with your dad, family, and friends.  She loves you forever.

Jennifer loved all the holidays, but Christmas was her favorite!  Yes, she loved picking out the tree and putting up the decorations, but most of all, she loved the time spent with family and friends carrying on long standing traditions. Whether it was snuggling with the girls to watch Charlie Brown, sitting with Tom in the tree light while watching, “Love Actually”, slipping into their matching shirts for the Hiller Family Cookie Bake-A-thon, or making ravioli, Jennifer cherished this time with her family.  Watching Julia and Emma carry on these traditions with their cousins, Leah and Tyler, always reminded her of sharing the traditions with her sister and cousins growing up.  She hopes that these family traditions will carry on for generations to come.

Another favorite tradition was New Year’s Eve with their “Camp Family.”  This group of friends started as Tom’s high school friends but they quickly invited Jennifer into their circle, and have spent the last twenty years raising their families together; supporting each other, celebrating each other, co- parenting the kids, camping together, and planning all sorts of activities.  While the days and months often blurred together, New Year’s Eve was sacred; the one night that they could all gather together and celebrate another year of friendship.  It was Jennifer’s favorite night of the year.  She fondly remembered the year that she was recovering from surgery and was not well enough to attend the New Year’s Eve party.  Instead of having the party without her, they decided to postpone New Year’s Eve until she was well enough to celebrate with them.  This kindness was not lost on Jen.

The kindness of others sustained Jennifer throughout her life, but especially during the last four years.  She is eternally grateful for your love and support; for all the meals, flowers, phone calls, and time that she was able to spend with each of you.  She was especially grateful for the support from her work family.  “My work family is the most amazingly generous group of women on the planet!  From the beginning of my illness, my coworkers have known how fulfilling my job is to me and how much I wanted to continue working.   Any time that I needed to leave early, or take a day off, I was completely accommodated without question.  I’ll always cherish them and appreciate their unbelievable selflessness.”  Jennifer was blessed to have a vast community of friends who brought joy into her life.  “My friends and family have been the greatest gift in the world!  I have no regrets!”

Finally, Jennifer was immensely proud of her career as a nurse.  Growing up, she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, and nursing fulfilled this dream.  The majority of her career was spent working in the Henry Ford Hospital system, she worked in many departments including infectious diseases and most recently in diagnostic holding and radiology.  She was a hard worker who found great satisfaction in building relationships with her patients. Jen always went the extra mile to make sure her patients were comfortable and felt loved.  When the tables turned, and Jennifer became a patient, she was grateful for all of the doctors and nurses who treated her with the care and respect that she had shared with all of her patients over the years.  Working to find the balance between her work life and her home life was one of her greatest achievements.

When asked how she would like to be remembered, Jennifer shared this, “I want people to remember me as kind, and that I was a good friend, sister, daughter, niece, and cousin.  I want people to remember me when I was healthy and happy.  I hope that my patients will remember my kindness and that my friends will remember that I was always looking out for them.  I hope that Tom and my girls will remember how much I love them.”  May Jennifer’s courage be an inspiration to all who knew and loved her.

Jennifer Ann (nee Hiller) Abramczyk was born on July 1, 1971 in Buffalo, New York; daughter of John and Maryann (nee Buscaglia) Hiller.  Jennifer married Tom Abramczyk on July 29, 2000 and spent 20 loving years as husband and wife.

Jennifer is survived by her beloved husband, Tom Abramczyk; her beautiful daughters, Julia Abramcyzk and Emma Abramcyzk; her loving parents John and Maryann Hiller; her sister Melanie (John) McFadden; her niece Leah McFadden; her nephew Tyler McFadden; her in-laws Joseph and Donna (nee Stansell) Abramcyzk; Christy (Scott) Pautuk; her nephews Ben Pautuk and Kyle Stallings; her niece Haley Stallings;  and many wonderful aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

A time of gathering will be held on September 11, 2020 from 2pm until 8pm at Casterline Funeral Home, 122 West Dunlap, Northville.  A private memorial service for immediate family will be held.  In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorial contributions to the Julia and Emma Abramczyk Education Fund. Memorial contributions may also be mailed to Julia and Emma Abramczyk Education Fund, 34806 Valley Forge Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48331.

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