Jennifer Michal Sparks "JEN" age 35- went home to the loving arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Sunday, August 22, 2021. She is preceded in death by her grandfathers-George Sparks and JW Herring, her birth father-Greg Herring and her cousin-Ashley Mahanay.

Jennifer was born in Huntsville, Texas on Sunday, December 8,1985 to parents Greg Herring and Sherry Sparks. Jen was fortunate in life to have not 1 but 2 dads as she was adopted by her now father, Stephen Sparks on May 1, 2003.

Jennifer touched the lives and hearts of everyone she met from the moment she was born. Even the nurses that cared for her in the nursery at Huntsville Memorial Hospital knew how special she was. If you knew Jen then you knew how much she touched your life and gave 110% of her heart to you. She was sweet, loving, caring, generous, fun-loving, big-hearted, and beautiful-inside and out.

Jen lived in Huntsville, TX until 1990 when her family moved to Amarillo, TX until 1993. Her family then moved back to Huntsville where she lived until she graduated from Huntsville High School in 2003.  She moved out on her own and eventually ended up in Houston, TX where she stayed until moving back home with her parents in Willis, TX in 2019.

Jennifer was blessed with the sweetest spirit. She was passionate about animal welfare. She would have adopted every stray she found if she could have. She cared about all animals-she got so upset one night when she ran over a frog! She considered her "spirit animal" to be the sloth. She loved working with animals as her profession. She started her veterinary tech career at Spring Hill Animal Hospital in 2005, moved to Tender Paws Animal Hospital in 2007, continued her career at Brittmoore Animal Hospital then to Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in 2012 where she worked 7yrs as an ICU Patient Care Technician. When there were dogs/cats that no one else could handle, Jen could. Her sweet spirit was sensed by animals and she could calm them down. When the doctors would bring in their own pets that were sick, many of them only wanted Jen taking care of them. She was so dedicated to the animals that she worked thru Hurricane Harvey at the hospital taking care of them, having to evacuate them at around 1am in the middle of Harvey from the Galleria area to Sugarland due to flooding in their building and the walls were beginning to buckle. She never gave it a second thought to do what she needed to do for those animals to keep them safe regardless of what may have happened to her. She literally risked her life for them. But she would always call her mom and let her know that God had heard her prayers and they were safe. Unfortunately for Jen-2 years later she suffered from PTSD from that night and had to leave her veterinary tech career.

Jen's sweet spirit was also sensed by little children and they loved her so. When some children wouldn't go to anyone else besides their parents or grandparents-they would come to Jennifer. This was the case in her own family when one Christmas they were spending at her grandparents house in Leander and her cousins were there. One of her cousins had their little girl there (she was around 2 yrs old) and she NEVER went to anyone but her parents or grandparents yet much to her grandmother's great surprise, Jen just picked her up and they started playing and having a blast. That's who Jen was.

Jennifer also had a very special place in her heart for children with disabilities-any kind of disability. She had a very special friend in high school whose brother is autistic and truly loved being around them and helping out with him. Her heart was that big and caring.

Jen accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior when she was six years old. She loved going to church and learning about Jesus. Then went through a really dark period in her life in her early teenaged years. Jen suffered from Major Depressive Disorder from the time she was 13 years old. So life from then on was a struggle. But she hid it well from most. Even with the pain and heartache she suffered, never feeling her worth as a human being, she never stopped loving the Lord. Her mom was given this message from God after Jen's passing:

" Satan, YOU CAN NO LONGER TORMENT MY BABYGIRL. YOU THINK YOU WON BUT ALL YOU DID WAS SEND HER STRAIGHT TO THE LOVING ARMS OF JESUS. YOU DIDN'T WIN ANYTHING…YOU LOST  evil one."

FRIENDS AND FAMILY-may your hearts be at peace knowing that Jennifer is in the arms of Jesus. She now knows how beautiful she is-inside and out. She knows, for perhaps the first time in her life, how wonderfully created she was. She is loved beyond measure and has worth. She is truly happy and has found her joy.

Jennifer is survived by her parents- Stephen and Sherry Sparks, brothers-David Sparks, Patrick Sparks & wife Kimmi, and Ray Snell, sisters-Lauren Hudson & husband Tannon, and Hannah Chase, grandmothers-Ann Sparks and Jane Herring, many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.

A "Celebration of Life" service will be held Saturday, September 4 ^th , 2021 at The Light Community Fellowship at 13145 Interstate 45 N in Willis, TX 77318. There will be a private viewing for immediate family at 9:30am-10:00am. A public viewing/visitation from 10:00am-11:00am with services starting immediately following. There will be a reception following the services and all are invited.

The service will be Star Wars themed and everyone that will are asked to wear Star Wars shirts. Anyone that wants to share a memory or letter to Jen is encouraged to. There will be a place to leave your letters if you just want to post it on the memory board and not be read aloud. If you have a private letter to Jen, you may put it a sealed envelope, leave it in her casket and it will be cremated with her.

Pallbearers

This is not a sad time-this is a CELEBRATION OF JEN'S LIFE.

In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation to NAMI of Greater Houston (National Alliance on Mental Illness) or mental illness organization of your choice, AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) or any local animal shelter/rescue of your choice.

(masks are optional and there will be masks at the celebration for your use, if needed)