Jennifer Crockett McDonagh

Jennifer (Crockett) McDonagh passed away in Tucson on November 5, 2017 after a lengthy struggle with Parkinson's disease. She died peacefully at home in hospice. Jennifer was born in Delano, California in 1949 of Mauda (North) and Glen Crockett. She attended Delano High School where she was an Honor Student and excelled at athletics, holding her school's Swim Team record for many years. Jen was selected to attend Girls State and won a California State 4H Competition at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Jennifer then attended UCLA, graduating in 1971 with a B.S. in Kinesiology. She acquired the research bug and stayed on working with Reggie Edgerton earning an M.S. in 1972. She then moved east to Tucson and in 1979 earned her Ph.D. degree in Physiology at the University of Arizona working with Doug Stuart. She met Paul McDonagh at the U of Arizona and they were married in 1978. Their first child, John Glen was born in Tucson in 1979. Together, they sought fame and fortune, as migrant academics. During their journey, Denise Anne was born at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1980. In addition to raising two, fine children, Jennifer worked as a Research Associate at Texas Tech (1983-1987), earned a B.S. in Physical Therapy (1989), served on the faculty at the Texas Tech School of Health Sciences (1985-1989) and taught Physiology at Northeastern University in Boston (1989-1991). While at TTUHSC, Jennifer earned the Quest for Excellence Award in 1989. In 1991, they happily returned to Tucson, where Jennifer worked as a Research Assistant Professor (1992-1996), then served as an Associate Professor of Physical Therapy (PT) at The Arizona School for the Health Sciences (1997-2004). At ASHS, she taught the Neuroscience course as well as directed and mentored the PT students in their Research Thesis Projects. Jennifer received awards for Outstanding Teaching and the Presidents Technology Award (1999) for her innovative use of computers in teaching and mentoring. Jennifer has two, fine grandchildren, Kai Brady McDonagh and Charlotte Page Kohrs. Jen is also survived by her sister, Gwen from Houston Texas. A special thanks goes to the Caregivers, Nurses and Physicians who looked after Jennifer through the years. A Memorial Service is being planned to celebrate Jennifer's amazing, diverse life, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, January 13, 2018 in Tucson. An expanded obituary and details of Jennifer's Memorial Service will be posted on a website under development. The website is: http://jennifermcdonagh.com.