Jennifer Lee Crockett

Jennifer Lee Crockett completed her journey through this life on February 22, 2025, in Harbor Springs, Michigan.

Born on December 18, 1976, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Jennifer was the eldest child of Kenneth and Sharon Crockett, who later had a son, Benjamin, her younger brother.

Jen grew up in Bay City, MI during an era remembered with nostalgia by those of that last generation to come of age before childhood would be transformed at the waning of the twentieth century. There was freedom and independence, trepidation and tedium, imagination and play. Summers were spent with best friends—riding bikes, splashing in the pool until sunburned, listening to mixtapes and Top 40 hits on the radio, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and staying outside until called in by her mom at dark. When autumn came, Jen was a good and conscientious student who liked class projects and practicing cursive writing. She was a natural athlete—the fastest runner in her school and an excellent swimmer. Winter weekends were always spent skiing all day in Northern Michigan, staying at the Petoskey State Park, with doughnuts and pancakes to look forward to. In spring, Jen and her family would take long road trips across the Great Plains to the American West, visiting cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents while the snow was melting in the mountain sunshine and the flowers were emerging in the valleys.

The Crocketts moved to a new house on Grove Street in Petoskey, MI in 1989. The change was difficult for Jen, as she loved the friends she was leaving behind, but she soon grew into the fabric of her new community. She played in the school marching band, worked summer jobs with friends downtown, and competed in track and field, ultimately setting a school record in the 100-meter hurdles event.

Graduating from Petoskey High School in 1995, she then spent two years at North Central Michigan College before moving to Marquette, MI to attend Northern Michigan University. She loved Marquette—its rugged landscapes, climate, and people. Her brother joined a few years later, and they lived with friends in a house on Baraga Avenue—going to class, studying, hiking, and exploring together. Jen graduated from NMU in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in education. She maintained a lifelong love for the Upper Peninsula.

Throughout her young life, Jen was an uncommonly talented skier. As a child, she followed her dad through the steep terrain of Utah, keeping up at Alta and Snowbird. When she began to race, she found a passion that would steer much of her life. She was the Michigan High School State Champion in 1995 and attended university on an NCAA athletic scholarship. Jen competed in national championships many times and won scores of races in the Fédération Internationale de Ski circuit across North America. She skied with precision and grace that belied the competitor she was—never to be underestimated, she often found ways to win against athletes of greater means and from greater geography. Jen was inducted into the Petoskey High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024, alongside one of her first ski coaches, Jack Frank.

Jen dedicated much of her adult professional life to working with young people. As the program director for the YMCA of Northern Michigan, she ran summer day camps, bringing joy and outdoor adventure to countless children. She later became a teacher at Pellston Middle and High Schools, where she had a special talent for connecting with students and believing in them. Her teaching colleagues celebrated her with the Outstanding Person In Education Award for 2025. For over two decades, she coached ski racers, including serving as the coach of the Petoskey Ski Team since 2019, helping young athletes ski fast and stay safe.

Jen always looked forward to her annual trips to the Pacific Northwest. She loved Portland’s quirky charm, the glaciated peaks of the Cascades, and the misty Douglas fir forests. She never passed up a good hike, especially if it led to a waterfall, and loved spending time in Timberline and Mazama Lodge. That time of year, in Cascadia with friends, was when she was happiest.

Carla, her sister-in-law, could always count on Jen for projects, and they shared many laughs through the years, often on trips near and far. When Jen became an incredible aunt to her nephew, Otis, born in 2015, they would get lost in play together for hours at a time, and she would bring him on spontaneous adventures. She made special days just for the two of them, where she gave him all of her attention and love. Jen rescued four dogs—Calvin, Rufus, Bandit, and Beagle Buddy—and shared a love of animals with her Aunt Karon, whom she always admired for her compassion for all living things. In Christopher, her dear friend for decades, she found joyful energy and support that were a gift in her life.

When speaking of her parents, Ken and Sharon, Jen would often reflect on the wonderful childhood they gave her and how much she appreciated their steadfast values. They never stopped looking out for her, and she saw and felt all of their acts of love—from help with her home to hosting holidays to giving a safe harbor, and finally, to healing and hospice. Jen and her brother, Ben, were twin spirits. When they were young, she looked out for him—a protector by nature—never letting harm come his way. They filled a well of shared memory together, traveling life side by side with an annealed bond of love and trust.

Jen mattered deeply to those whose lives she touched. She valued authenticity in people and things, without much use for pretense. Sometimes loyal to a fault, she was honest and didn’t understand deceit. Jen was sentimental in ways that went unnoticed by others. Occasionally flinty and stubborn, her warmth was never far away—just a moment’s patience would reveal her sly sense of humor and affection. In her final months, with the veil of mortality before her, she had unhurried moments of connection and appreciation that were brave and inspiring to those who still tread this earth.

She is loved and will be remembered by her parents, Kenneth and Sharon Crockett, Jr.; her brother, Benjamin Crockett; her sister-in-law, Carla Crockett; her nephew, Otis Crockett; her aunt, Karon Berg; her friend, Christopher Herrmann; the students and athletes she mentored; the teachers and coaches who worked alongside her; and friends and family across the world.

Jennifer Lee Crockett was gifted a half-century full of life. She now passes into legend.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Viewlands Nature Preserve pond in Harbor Springs on June 7th, 2025 at 10:00 am.

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