Jenny Chizuko Carista, 59, went to Heaven on December 6, 2015 after battling a long illness with Alzheimer’s.
A Celebration of Life service will be held on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. at the chapel of Coker-Mathews Funeral Home with Rev. Sam Caulk officiating.
Jenny was born in Sapporo, Japan on April 16, 1956 and was adopted by Frank and Dawn Heverly before coming to the United States, at the age of 9.
She married Thomas Gambrel at age 20 and together they raised two children, Patrick and Stefani Gambrel, in Rockwall, Texas. During that time, Jenny worked at E-Systems, which later became Raytheon, in Greenville. In 1998, the Gambrel family relocated to Mountain Home, Arkansas. After the move, Jenny began school at Arkansas State University towards her Nursing Degree. In 1999, Jenny and her children lost Tom to a battle with cancer.
Soon after, Jenny and Gene Carista, who worked together in Greenville, began dating. In June of 2000, Jenny and Gene were married in Emory, Texas at their newly purchased residence. In 2002, Jenny graduated with Honors from Trinity Valley Community and was immediately sought after by Zale Lipshy Hospital in Dallas. In 2003, Gene’s son, Nathaniel Carista, came to live with the couple and their journey began in raising a child together. Gene introduced Jenny into motorcycle riding. Within five years of time, the couple had traveled to all 48 contingent States.
In 2005, Jenny began her battle with Alzheimer’s disease. By 2008, it became clear that Jenny’s career as a Registered Nurse had reached its end. For years, Gene made great efforts to keep Jenny at home, giving her the best quality of life as possible in Emory. In 2014, it was clear that Jenny needed around-the-clock care. At that time, Tender Care in Greenville became her new home. Gene visited her every day, and sometimes twice a day. In November of 2015, Jenny was moved to Briarcliff Health Center, where she succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease, surrounded by her family.
Jenny is survived by her husband, Gene Carista; parents, Frank and Dawn Heverly; son, Nathaniel Carista; daughters, Stefani Gambrel, Molly Carista; brothers, Michael Heverly, Ryoichi Yoshimoto; sisters, Kandis Jagielski, Kim Heverly, Kelly Barz, Lisa Hoyer; grandchildren, Sage and Nilu; and also daughter-in-law, Marcela Gambrel.
She is preceded in death by her former husband, Thomas Gambrel; sister, Kathy Heverly Ramey; and son, Patrick Gambrel.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to http://m.alz.org/donate.asp.