Samantha Lee Jennings-Jones

Our beloved Samantha Lee Jennings-Jones, 36, of Alexandria, VA, passed away unexpectedly on March 30th, 2023. Services will be held at the Demaine Funeral Home in Old Town Alexandria on 16 April 2023 at 1:00 PM.

Sam as she was known by those that knew her, was born on June 02, 1986, in South Korea and was adopted by Kirby Jones and Linda Jennings on August 23rd, 1986. This day became known as “Gotcha Day”, and Sam and her parents were together for each of her 36 Gotcha Days to remember and honor the day she became part of their family. Sam was an adorable spitfire as a child. Her childhood passions included horseback riding and dance and later in High School she became involved in Cross Country running. She graduated from Walt Whitman High School in 2003 and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 2007.

Her career began at Target and progressed through Booz-Hamilton as a Senior Consultant supporting the Air Force Review Boards Agency. She then became a GS employee for the Federal Government with a position at the U.S. Coast Guard working for the Coast Guard Cyber Command. While at the Coast Guard, she sought out and was selected for a special appointment to the White House Office of the National Cyber Directorate (ONCD) helping to create the recently signed Presidential National Cyber Strategy. Sam was most recently a lead member of the team working on the Cyber Strategy’s implementation.

Sam met Jon Libbesmeier, her husband and partner in life in 2014. They were married on September 16th,2017. They have been inseparably together for 9 years. Sam’s was Jon’s rock and vice versa, and their personalities perfectly complimented each other. They were truly made for each other. They lived in Alexandria, VA with their two cats Fannie and Santiago.

Sam will be greatly missed by her husband Jon, their pets, Kirby and Linda(parents), Liza Parker (sister), and Kirby M. Jones (brother) and her entire family. Sam was a firm believer that friends are the family you choose, and she will be missed by the many friends and colleagues whose lives she touched and was such a big part of.

Sam had the biggest heart and the most beautiful smile. She was a private person, but also fierce, very witty and fun. She loved vacations, quality time with friends and family and family traditions. She was a foodie extraordinaire and a connoisseur of bourbon and wine, loved Harry Potter, her cats, volunteering and she was very passionate about her work. She was so proud to be working at the Executive Office of the President. Sam was an intensely determined professional who genuinely had a passion for working for the Federal Government and the Missions she supported.

Sam will never be forgotten by those who met her and will always be loved by her husband Jon, family, and friends. She was a uniquely beautiful soul who combined an amazing warmth and gentleness in her relationships and fierceness in her career. She would want us all to follow her lead by living kind, humble, hardworking, meaningful, loving lives. We can all honor her by following her lead.

“In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”

The Center for Cyber Safety and Education has established an endowed scholarship in memory of Sam. The link is here and the opportunity to support the endowment is now live:

https://iamcybersafe.harnessgiving.org/campaigns/10377