Horsewoman, community volunteer, supporter of many charities
Jennifer Combs. (Courtesy photo)
Jennifer (Malloy) Combs was born Jan. 27, 1959, in Manhattan, New York. She died Jan. 30, 2022, at home in Harvard, surrounded by her family, following a year-long struggle with cancer.
As a young girl in 1967, she moved to Westport, Connecticut, with her family. She rode horses at Fairfield County Hunt Club from 1971 to 1977. After graduating from high school a semester early, Jennifer attended Potomac Horse Center. She went on to Connecticut College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in European history in 1981. Her next chapter was as a ski instructor at Pico Mountain from 1981 to 1984, while living in her family home in Bridgewater, Vermont. She went on to start her own video production company, All Seasons Video, which brought her to Cambridge.
She married Alexander Combs on Aug. 29, 1993, with his children Zachariah, Daniel, and Matthew by their sides. They all welcomed Meredith into the family in 1994 and moved to Harvard in 1997. The youngest sibling, Parker, was born in 2001.
A lifelong horsewoman, Jennifer reconnected to the horse world by keeping ponies at her home in Harvard. In 2006 she built and opened Meadow March Riding Center, a competition-oriented show stable. She also became a grandma in 2006. She spent her time riding and with family, hosting many family events from birthdays to holidays, winter solstice and more.
Following her parents’ example, Jennifer was involved for decades in many charitable organizations as a board member, donor, and volunteer. Some highlights include the Sun Hill Foundation (1974-2015), Harvard Divinity School (1998-2013), Harvard Zoning Board of Appeals (1998-2001), Fruitlands Museum (2003-2013), Warner Free Lecture Series (2018-2021), and Further Forward Foundation (2015-2022).
Since her time as a member of Temple Emanu-El (Manhattan, New York) in her youth, she faithfully practiced Jewish traditions throughout her life. She was always family oriented, generous, kind, a friend to the bees, an artist, mother to many in and out of the family, a horsewoman, animal lover, avid reader and puzzler, and curator of the good time for all.
Jennifer was predeceased by her parents, Edwin and Susan Malloy, and her loyal canine companion, Moby. She is survived by her loving husband of 28 years, Alexander; her brother Timon of Manhattan, New York; her children Meredith Combs (Tiffen) of Arlington, Parker Combs of Cambridge, Zachariah Combs (Kristin) of Shrewsbury, Daniel Combs (Afra) of Washington, D.C., and Matthew Combs (Kaitlyn) of Manhattan, New York; her grandchildren Rennie, George, and August; and her niece and nephew Tess and Jake.
A service will be held at Acton Funeral Home Sunday, Feb. 6, at 10 a.m. Rather than in person, please join the family by Tribucast at https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/9510552428. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Native Plant Trust or The Rose Art Museum. A memorial page can be found at actonfuneralhome.com.
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