Obituaries

Janifer Lynn Lighten Of New Rochelle Dies At Age 50

Former Wall Street Banker, active in church and community, battled with cancer.

The Lighten Family sadly lost their matriarch, Janifer Lynn Lighten, on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.

Mrs. Lighten, who was 50 years old, succumbed to cancer. She died peacefully, surrounded by her family and friends in her New Rochelle home. 

Mrs. Lighten, was a former Wall Street banker, who turned full-time wife to her husband William Lighten and mother of four, Adrienne, Alexis, Christopher and Michael. She focused her talents on serving her alma mater, Yale University, as well as local organizations in the non-profit sector in her beloved community of New Rochelle.

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Mrs. Lighten was the inaugural president and CEO of the Yale Black Alumni Association. Additionally, she served numerous organizations in her community including the Board of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation and The Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle. She and her children founded the Remington Leadership Financial Literacy Program at the Remington Unit of the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle. She also served on the Head of School Committee and the Executive Board of the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, her children’s secondary school.

She was a Trustee of the Jack and Jill of America Foundation and held various leadership positions with The Links, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

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In 2010, in recognition of her community service and Philanthropic endeavors, Mrs. Lighten received a resolution from state Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins which stated, "Rare indeed is the occurrence of such compassionate blending of strength, intellect and commitment as that demonstrated by Janifer Lynn Lighten over a lifetime of sacrifice and dedication to others..."

She was a faithful and active member of Grace Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, where she co-founded the Grace Innovation Ministry, an investment educational development ministry.

Her homegoing services will be conducted by the Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, senior pastor at Grace Baptist Church at 52 South Sixth Ave. in Mount Vernon.

The arrangements are as follows: 
The wake will be held on Wednesday, February 15th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 16th at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Lighten Family Foundation which focuses on Education, Mentoring, Social Services, and Legal Defense for Urban Youth. Donations can be mailed to:

The Lighten Family Foundation 
c/o UBS 
299 Park Avenue-26th floor 
New York, NY 10171 
Attn: Robert Sechan 

CORRECTION: This obituary was modified from its previous version to include Janifer Lynn Lighten's husband's name.


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