Jacqueline Audrey Brennan

Jacqueline Audrey Brennan, 89, passed away Saturday December 28, 2024, at Wentworth Douglass Hospital following a period of failing health.
Born September 10, 1935, in Beverly, MA, “Jackie” was the first child of the late John “Jack” and Claire (L’Italien) Bennett. The musical family moved to Rochester when Jackie was 10. They sang and performed skits on stage at the Rochester Opera House. Fittingly, her last words included lyrics of the three songs she sang on Christmas day.
Jackie graduated from Spaulding High School in Rochester, NH, and received her R.N. from the Beverly Hospital School of Nursing. She made lifelong friends at “Probie Hall,” where first-year nursing students spent a six-month probationary period before moving on to other rooms. Her cohort petitioned to stay with one another, and did so for the three years of nurses’ training. “Ever since I was a young child, I wanted to be a nurse,” she wrote in an essay for their 50th reunion.
After graduation, Jackie worked in the children’s ward at Beverly Hospital, then traveled to Florida for a stint at Broward County General Hospital in Florida. Back home in Rochester, she worked in the medical ward at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in neighboring Dover.
One Saturday night, she went out dancing at the Skyline Ballroom in Newington and met Dick Brennan. They danced the Jitterbug; he knew the words, and she could sing. “He has, to this day, been the most gentle and kind man I have ever met,” she said in the essay.
When John was born in 1960, Jackie transitioned to part-time work in OB/GYN as a night supervisor, continuing after Laura’s birth in 1961. Four years after Lesley arrived in 1964, she went back to full time, helping to establish the Emergency Room at Frisbee Memorial Hospital in Rochester. It was one of her proudest accomplishments, and she loved ER nursing. “Every day was different and challenging,” she recalled.
With her school-age children involved in numerous activities, Jackie made the difficult choice to leave the ER and become a school nurse. She wanted to be with them during this time, and that included commuting with them to Spaulding High School! She encouraged them to pursue their education, as well as athletics, and could reliably be heard cheering loudly from the stands.
During her first years as a school nurse, Jackie attended New England College and received a BA in Psychology/Sociology. For the next 20 years, she worked with children of all ages and challenges, serving on the Juvenile Diversion Committee to help teens at risk. When she retired in 1992 from the Chamberlain Street School, Jackie was honored by a performance that sang her praises with phrases about how nice are band-aids and ice.
At home, Jackie’s talents abounded in crocheted afghans and (uncomfortable) slippers, knitted hats, and pretty ceramics. She didn’t just repaint bureaus, she “antiqued” them. Eventually, she caught the quilting bug and thereafter was rarely without her basket. She hand-sewed dozens of treasured, gorgeous quilts for family and friends.
Upon retirement, Jackie and Dick bought a motor home and traveled across the USA and Canada. They went to Ireland a couple of times and to London and Paris, which she loved. Having sold the motor home, they were content to sit on their back porch to read, or go to the beach to watch people, or watch the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics on TV. They most loved being surrounded by their family, especially their grandchildren.
After Dick’s death in 2007, Jackie spent a lot of time with her siblings: travelling, playing board games, and talking on the phone. She hosted cousins, nurse friends, and “pool buddies.” She got a kick out of Judge Judy and would generously share her opinions of the daily news. She and her sister attempted recipes from the cooking shows they watched together, with admittedly mixed results. Jackie loved to laugh, and her wit was as attractive as her warmth. A fount of knowledge, she never missed Jeopardy, and was the first to help in a crisis.
Members of her family include her children: John J. Brennan and wife Lisa of Pittsford, NY, Laura B. Smith and husband Fran of Campton, NH, and Lesley P. Brennan and husband Marc Ebenfield of Salem, MA; her grandchildren: Joseph (Ronald), Katie (Tyler), Phil (Tessie), Bennett, Ethan, Joseph, and Jamie; her brother, James Bennett and wife Claire of Wells, ME, and sister Lynne Cummisky and husband Bryon of Rochester, NH; her cousins, nieces and nephews.
She will be missed by all of us. A celebration of Jackie’s life will be held in May.