Jennifer Rossi

Jennifer Rossi was a native of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where she served as a student manager for the Seals’ high school track and field hockey teams, and also earned the Gold Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Girl Scouts of America.

She attended Penn State University, earning a B.S. in Management in 2002. At PSU, she continued her love of sports through a student organization which managed the business aspects of the Nittany Lions’ men’s ice hockey team. Jennifer was named the student manager of the year for the team twice and was the first person to receive the honor multiple times. She remained an avid and lifelong follower of the program and enjoyed their many successes over the years.

After graduation, Jennifer relocated to Cleveland, Ohio and later, Medina, Ohio with Kyle Rossi, her eventual husband, and worked for Macy’s and then Expeditors International as an import transportation coordinator. She enjoyed working in the healthcare field and volunteered at both Medina Hospital in Ohio and Sunbury Community Hospital in Pennsylvania.
Her interests were many and varied. Music was a central part of her life and a form of self-expression, and she would seek out as many live shows as possible or, absent that, play and cast YouTube music videos at full volume at home in what she called “dance parties.” She was a proud survivor of Woodstock ’99, and her musical interests ranged all the way from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, all the way through Live, the Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Johnny Cash, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Eminem, and Bruce Springsteen.

She loved animals, particularly dogs, and owned several during her life, including Shelby and Paterno, who preceded her in death, and Kiki and Dante, who survive.
Jennifer also had an intense interest in psychology, particularly with respect to addiction and mental health, as well as the legal system. She was an advocate for criminal justice and prison reform, and devoured non-fiction shows on those topics, as well as many well-known fictional ones, especially the Law & Order franchise.

Perhaps more than anything else, Jennifer loved bringing light to the lives of others, even as she struggled with her own health issues throughout her life. She enjoyed a vast network of friends and contacts in the United States, England, and all corners of the world, but nevertheless always had time for each of them, whether it was through an encouraging message, a gift, or by simply listening.

Survivors include husband Kyle Rossi, father George Hollenbach, Aunt and Uncle Leisa and Wayne Klock, numerous cousins and in-laws, as well as legions of social media friends she developed through online communities. She was preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy (Hare) Chuplis, her brother Tim Hanselman, and aunts Darla Hanselman and Bonnie Hestor, as well as uncles Ronald Hanselman and Bob Hestor.

A Celebration of Jennifer’s life will be planned for both Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Villalobos Rescue Center, the Scleroderma Foundation, or the Innocence Project.