In Memory of Jen Jefferis
I am a member of the Saddlebrooke Hearing Discussion Group. I would like to devote this article to the memory of Jennifer (Jen) Jefferis. Jen founded our group in 2018. Jan sadly passed away on April 12, 2026.
Jen created our group because she wanted to have a way for the hearing-impaired residents of Saddlebrooke to meet and share their experiences and challenges. She desired an environment in which they would not only feel comfortable discussing their hearing loss journey but also get input on issues and questions they had regarding hearing loss. Jen wanted to have the meeting opened to anyone in SaddleBrooke. While none of us are hearing care professionals, we are happy to share our experiences with such issues as streaming phone calls, or noisy restaurants.
I became aware of the group when I moved here six years ago. The group was in existence at the time I arrived. I started attending meetings right away as I was having challenges with my hearing loss and desired to hear strategies for coping with hearing loss. I realized right away that I liked the welcoming environment and the informal meeting format. My wife and I also became good friends with Jen and her husband, Lyle Larson. We typically had lunch together after the meeting. Jen always started the meetings by sharing her hearing loss story. We would then go around the room and have each person introduce themselves, describe their hearing loss and pose any questions that they had.
The group does not have a formal structure, but there is a core group of residents that attend most meetings. There are also many residents who just attend one or two meetings. Hopefully anyone that attends gets some answers to their questions or at least learns that they are not alone in struggling with hearing loss.
Since we are not hearing care professionals we have reached out to the audiology department at the University of Arizona. They have graciously committed to having one or two Doctor of Audiology students attend our meetings to help answer questions. We also sponsor a couple of Hearing Nights Out presentations each year. These educational presentations are given by local hearing care professionals. We also submit articles monthly to the Saddlebrooke newspapers.
Jen was the driving force behind all of this. Jen encouraged each of us to not only advocate for ourselves, but she also stressed the importance of advocating for others.
Jen’s personal story demonstrates that the journey to better hearing requires work and dedication. I have agreed to continue coordinating the group and intend to continue her mission.
Our group meets on the 2nd Friday of every month at 10 AM in the Catalina Room in HOA2. We typically have one or two Doctor of Audiology students from the University of Arizona in attendance. If you would like to have your email added to our distribution list, contact me at tgaule@outlook.com.