Jenny Aster

Jenny was a quietly wonderful and warm person. City has lost a great member of our community and she will be very much missed by colleagues in HR and across the University. I was invited by Jenny's UNISON colleagues to write to her just before her sad passing and I hope you will accept this as a tribute to Jenny. With my sincere condolences, Mary (Director of HR) ****** Letter sent to Jenny on 13th August 2020 Dear Jenny I am so very sorry to hear that you are not in good health. I hope that you are more comfortable being with your family and are receiving the best care from the NHS. It has been a huge pleasure working with you over the years on many important issues, including the TIGNC Policy work which will always be associated with your passion and drive. A meeting with our trade union colleagues is always much improved by your presence. I always associate you with the colour purple and was so pleased to find many pictures of asters in glorious shades of that colour. You are very well named: Asters are daisy-like perennials with starry-shaped flower heads. They bring delightful colour to the garden in late summer and autumn when many of your other summer blooms may be fading. Thank you for being such a lovely colleague, for the immense effort and skill you bring to supporting individual members of Unison to resolve often difficult issues and, above all, for your warmth and empathy in everything you do. With my very best wishes Mary

I was lucky to be introduced to Jenny shortly after I started my role at City. We met at an LGBT+ Network event after work and she immediately made me feel extremely welcome. I would go on to work closely with Jenny over the next few years, particularly supporting her work in creating a supportive LGBT+ network for our staff at City. She was quite simply a joy to work with. She was supportive, helpful, always willing to listen if you needed someone to speak to and committed to creating positive change. Her passion for equality and helping others was inspirational and I always admired the way she communicated with others- even when she did not agree with them. I have countless fond memories of working with Jenny and I am truly grateful for the support and encouragement she gave me. My thoughts are with Barbara, Marc and the rest of Jenny's family.

Jenny was a wonderful colleague and I will miss her very much. She was such a warm, friendly, positive and, passionate person who really cared about making a difference for our staff and students. Jenny was a joy to work with, she was a real driving force for making change at City in particular for our LGBT+ community. I always felt that Jenny was there to support you no matter what. She will be deeply missed X

Jenny was always a calm and positive presence. And that presence was also open and supportive. She bore ill health so bravely and without complaint. She'll be missed by students and staff. Deepest condolences to her family.

I am so sorry to hear of Jenny's passing. Jenny was part of my interview process when I joined City, and I counted her as an ally and friend for the whole time we worked together after that point. Jenny was a warm, passionate and powerful person, leading by example and always creating space and including others. Jenny's approach to her work was fierce, focused and deliberate, and she was an excellent advocate for members of the LGBTQ community at City, and the community beyond. I will miss her terribly and feel so lucky to have had the chance to know her.

Jenny was a wonderful, welcoming and kind lady who was always making lives better for her colleagues and our students. In particular her work as co-chair of the TIGNC and chair of LGBTQ+ staff network made a huge diference to the lives of students and staff at City. She will be very much missed and my thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues.

Jenny was a wonderful, warm, lovely and generous woman. Her contribution in many meetings where we both attended was thoughtful, considerate and supportive. Jenny will be missed by many but remembered by many more. My thoughts and wishes are with her family and friends.

It was so lovely to meet Jenny, she was always supportive and fighting for everyone to get fair treatment. Her hard work running the LGBTQ+ has always been evident and continues to be so. I will miss Jenny's positive attitude and my thoughts are with her friends, family and colleagues.