On Sunday, March 14, 2021, Jennifer Ruth Hampton was killed in a car accident in Holland, MI. Born to Charles and Barbara (Settergren) Hampton on November 22, 1972, in Wooster, Ohio, she was educated in the Wooster Public Schools. She received her B.A. in Physics with honors from Oberlin College, her MPhil in Physics from the University of Cambridge in England on a Churchill Fellowship. She earned her MS and Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University. She was a professor and department chair of physics at Hope College, where she was, first of all, a teacher who loved and mentored her students in the joy of learning.
Jenny was a member of Faith Christian Reformed Church in Holland where she had been a deacon and a member of the missions committee as well as a regular singer and clarinetist for the worship team. In addition, she loved her book group, her biking group, and the opportunity to tutor young girls in Kids Hope.
Jenny had an adventurous side as well. She started school in Liberia, West Africa. She explored Europe with her family in 1984, 1995, and 2003. She worked in Cote D’Ivoire with her missionary aunt in 1993 during an Oberlin winter term. In 2018 traveled to China with her best college friend, Chloe Papke, and in 2019 she participated in an Iron Man competition with her gym, Valeo.
Jenny is survived by her parents; her two sisters, Ellen Miriam Filgo (Kelly) of Waco, TX and Karen Rachel Hampton of Grandville, MI; two nephews, Marc William Filgo and Anders Charles Filgo; aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends. Her grandparents, two aunts, and a cousin pre-deceased her.
Services are planned for family and invitees on Saturday, March 20 at 11 a.m. at Faith Christian Reformed Church. If you would like to watch/attend, the service will be broadcast from the Faith CRC Facebook page. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any gifts be made to the Hope College Physics Department, the deacons’ fund at Faith Christian Reformed Church, or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship with a notation for “Oberlin College #866.” A time of visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m., Friday, March 19, at the Langeland-Sterenberg Funeral Home, 315 E. 16th Street, Holland MI 49423.
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