Photo courtesy of Christian Feuerstein
Jeanne Tripp ’90 began working at Mount Holyoke immediately after her graduation in 1990. She served 30 years in the Campus Police department and is survived by two daughters, both students at Mount Holyoke.
“You can probably find this out from anyone that you talk to who knew her, but my mom was always so optimistic,” Nicole Tripp ’23 wrote in a statement to the Mount Holyoke News. “Even when she was told that a certain [cancer] treatment wasn’t working, she would just ask, ‘okay, what’s next?’”
On Feb. 13, Jeanne Tripp ’90, manager of administrative operations of the Mount Holyoke Campus Police department, passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
In a Feb. 20 email to Mount Holyoke community members, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Marcella Runell Hall wrote, “Jeanne’s love for Mount Holyoke was evident in both her work and in the many relationships she cultivated across the campus and throughout the Five College Consortium. Her light heart and sense of humor were evident in all of her interactions.”
Tripp worked as a member of Campus Police for 30 years and her loss is felt by many both within the Campus Police community and beyond.
“When I think about Jeanne Tripp, the word that most comes to my mind is ‘positive,’” Benefits and Training Manager Cindy Legare wrote. “She approached life with a sense of positivity that one doesn’t see very often. She never had a bad word to say about any person or situation. Ever.”
“All I can say is Jeanne Tripp had the biggest heart,” Campus Police Lieutenant Susan Dawley added. “She was absolutely committed to Mount Holyoke and her work in the Campus Police department. She had a ‘witty’ sense of humor and always had a smile on her face.”
Tripp was involved in the accreditation of the College’s Campus Police department and later served on the Massachusetts Accreditation Commission. According to the Mount Holyoke website, accreditation ensures that a police department meets the standards of their field, ensuring “operational readiness” and assuring “that the department’s policies and procedures and rules and regulations are in line with modern professional standards.” Mount Holyoke’s was the first campus police department to be certified and accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission in 2003.
“She was so proud of the fact that our Campus Police professionals were recognized as an accredited force,” Legare wrote.
Tripp started working for the Mount Holyoke Campus Police in 1990, just after her graduation, and her work ethic and commitment to service were admired by many.
“[Tripp] was punctual, dependable, accurate and forthright,” Campus Police Officer Maggie Brown wrote. “[Tripp] was so knowledgeable in all facets of policing. Whether it was updating the policies she wrote and shared statewide with other police agencies, reading Massachusetts general laws, getting our officers warranted and keeping track of all of their training expirations or compiling our annual Clery report, [Tripp] was always happily busy and actively learning new things along the way.”
As a class of 1990 alumna, Tripp majored in music. She continued her love of music by singing with the Springfield Symphony Chorus.
“Mom’s love of music was shared with me and my sister and has inspired us to pursue it ourselves,” Nicole wrote. “My sister is majoring in music and I plan on minoring in it and we both sing in the Springfield Symphony Chorus, like she did. We also go to every Springfield Symphony Orchestra concert that we can, our family being season subscribers.”
“She was also very supportive of my sister and I, both in music and not. She never missed one of our concerts or shows unless she had no choice but to do so. She would even attend all three performances of every play and musical that I was in in high school,” she added.
Among her family members and coworkers, Tripp was also known for her sense of humor and love of April Fools’ Day.
“One of her signature tricks, regardless of the time of year, was to wrap a rubber band around the nozzle of the kitchen sink sprayer so that when someone went to turn on the water, they would get sprayed,” Nicole wrote.
“She was such a good prankster, I always asked her for some corny tricks to play on my kids,” Brown added.
Tripp’s humor, compassion and dedication will be missed on campus.
“My mom was just one of the best people I had ever met and I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came to her calling hours and funeral.,” Nicole wrote. “She showed love to everyone that she met and because of that she was loved by everyone. Her presence is going to be sorely missed not just by her family, but the community as a whole.”