Farmer, Jennifer Marie (nee Belliotti)
Jan 21, 1975 – Oct 24, 2024
Beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend passed away in St. Louis, MO. She was 49 years old. Jen was a gift to all who knew her. And although she deserved twice as much time on the planet as she was given, she made the most of every single day, in particular during her 8-year breast cancer journey. Born at Sisters of Charity Hospital to parents Paul and Peggy, Jen was a proud child of the 80s, complete with a banana seat bike, unfortunate haircut, and an envious collection of mix tapes.
Growing up in her hometown of Amherst, NY, she was a skilled violin player and an unskilled basketball player, with her only recorded bucket counting for the other team. Jen attended elementary school at Windermere Boulevard, and then Amherst Central High School, before finally going on to study English at Binghamton University.
After graduating, she pursued a graduate degree at University of Buffalo, getting within one credit before ditching it all to join Ryan, her Midwestern match made in heaven, whom she married in 2003.
Jen combined her love of words and passion for music into a 26-year career in radio at stations in Buffalo, Des Moines, and finally her adopted hometown of St. Louis. Jen was best known as a beloved morning radio host and music director at Y-98, a role she held for 15 years. Her voice was what St. Louis woke up to, and her candor and personal stories about infertility, parenting, and her cancer journey endeared her to an entire city. Everyone felt like her friend. Jen loudly and proudly used her voice and her platform – and on many occasions an energy reserve she shouldn’t have been capable of – to help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes she cared about, including Pedal the Cause, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation and Pink Ribbon Good, just to name a few.
When it came to helping others, Jen never said no. But her proudest accomplishment by far was her two children. From the moment they were born, Finn and Nora were Jen’s everything, and their good nature, sense of humor, and sensitive souls are the embodiment of their mother. It was fierce love and sheer will to squeeze out every moment of life she possibly could with them that allowed her to endure eight years of living with her relentless cancer diagnosis. No one had a joyful laugh quite like Jen and it delighted anyone who heard it.
The void she leaves in the lives of those who knew her is enormous, but so is the impact she’s left. She is survived by her husband, Ryan; children, Finn and Nora; parents, Paul and Peggy Belliotti; brother, Greg Belliotti (Nicole); brother-in-law, Justin Farmer (Becky); father-in-law, Greg Farmer (Connie); and her nieces and nephews, Ava, Hadley, Harper, and Landon. In place of flowers, donations can be made in Jen’s memory to Pedal the Cause, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and Pink Ribbon Girls. For those who feel so inclined, a GoFundMe has been set up in the family’s name to help offset ongoing expenses for Ryan, Finn, and Nora. More information can be found on that here: https://gofund.me/c9a03800
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