Jennifer Leigh Salehi

Jennifer Leigh Salehi (maiden name Smith), 58, of Buena Park, California, passed away Friday, Jan 28, 2022, from heart issues after kidney tumor surgery. She was born October 21, 1963, in Tucson, Arizona, to Jacques and Lucille (Rexius) Smith.

Jennifer grew up in Springfield, Michigan and graduated from Springfield High School. She met Amir Salehi in Battle Creek, Michigan on June 12, 1981, where they both attended the World's Longest Breakfast Table during Kellogg's Cereal Festival. They were married in St. Paul Lutheran Church in Battle Creek on August 21, 1982. After wedding, they lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, for two years before moving to California where they spent the next 38 years together.

Jennifer was fun, witty and loved organizing outdoor activities. She carefully planned vacations and camping trips, zip-lined in Kauai and Australia, and explored Iran with her husband's family. Her favorite hobby was searching for geocaches (a global treasure hunt) all around her home and other cities she visited. She enjoyed playing board games with her family on holidays and played Scrabble online with her mom and sisters every weekday, chatting between turns.

Jennifer was extremely creative and caring. Family and friends cherish the custom greeting cards she made them, specially referencing their hobbies and interests. Every Christmas, she made thoughtful presents including unique books filled with memories, photos and recipes. For birthdays, she would make amazing 3D cakes that looked like other things, including a cheeseburger, frog, camera and gumball machine. She made her daughters prize winning Halloween costumes throughout the years, and everyone always looked forward to seeing what impressive jack-o-lantern she would carve.

Jennifer is survived by her husband, Amir; two daughters, Maria Salehi and her significant other, Lee Ako, and Jessica Salehi Luff and her husband, Rod; Stephen Roberts, who became her son, his wife Khalilah, and grandson Ethan; her mother, Lucille Smith of Springfield, Michigan; sister Brenda (Doug) Connolly of Gaithersburg, Maryland; sister Lorelie (Butch) Dake of Hastings, Michigan; sister Danette (Michael) Shearer of Goshen, Indiana; and many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father, Jacques Smith, and a 12-day-old brother, Randal Scott.

Jennifer will be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial in Cypress, California. Her celebration of life will be held in the Church of Our Fathers at 1:00pm on Wednesday, February 23rd. Wear happy clothes if you're attending in person, and your coziest pajamas if watching the live stream online. Contact the Salehi family for the link and password for the webcast.

If you would like to make a donation in her honor, we suggest https://scadalliance.org/donate/ or https://www.scadresearch.org/donate/