Very sad news
We are very sad to have to share the news that our former colleague, Jenny Sferrazza, passed away on November 15th, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
Jenny worked with us from 2011 to 2013, starting in a temporary administrative role and then becoming Marlys Edwardh’s legal assistant.
Jenny was a ray of sunshine in the office, always ready to pitch in and help with any task. Her positive attitude was infectious.
Every once in a while Jenny’s extremely proud father, Charlie, would come by the office unexpectedly, bearing gifts of homemade pizza and other delicious treats. Although she pretended to be a little bit embarrassed at her father’s enthusiastic efforts to feed us, it was obvious she was always delighted to see him and thrilled by the stampede to the kitchen whenever he dropped by.
Jenny clowns around with some Toronto firefighters at their winter toy drive
As much as she enjoyed working with Marlys, Jenny had law school in her sights. In the fall of 2013, she was accepted to the University of Sussex Law School in the UK. After her first year, she returned to the firm to work another contract assignment, and then continued her legal studies at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Halfway through her second year of law school, Jenny was told that the brain cancer she originally fought as a teenager had returned. Undeterred, Jenny continued her studies, began to receive regular chemotherapy treatments and participated in drug trials.
Sticking to her love of the law, Jenny dressed up as a judge on Halloween.
This spring, Jenny graduated from Osgoode, turned 30, and was excited to start articling at a criminal law firm. But that was not to be – Jenny’s doctors broke the tragic news that there was nothing further they could do to save her life. Her last few months were spent with her family, under the constant, loving care of her mother, Joanne.
In Jenny’s memory, Marlys and one of Jenny’s mentors from earlier in her life, Andrea Fugleman-Millar, have begun the work to establish a scholarship in her name at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Our thoughts are with Jenny’s family and friends at this most difficult time.