507th Medical Squadron officer dies; unit mourns loss of teammate

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Zach Jacobs
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --    The 507th Air Refueling Wing lost a dedicated and motivated officer in July.
Capt. Jennifer Lyn Trevino, a nurse with the 507th Medical Squadron and chief of the immunizations clinic, died on July 14, 2010.
  Trevino was the victim in a murder-suicide incident at a hotel in Norman, Okla.
  Trevino, a native of Auburn, Ind., was born Sept. 4, 1972. She was graduated from Urbana, Ohio, High School in 1991, and from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2004, where she majored in nursing.
  Trevino enlisted in the active duty Air Force in 1994. She joined the 507 MDS in 2000 as a reservist and earned her commission as a second lieutenant in 2004.
  Trevino also worked as a care management supervisor for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority since 2005.
  Master Sgt. Veronica Garrett, the senior Air Reserve Technician at the 507 MDS, said she had been friends with Trevino since 2000, when they were both technical sergeants working together.
  Garrett said that Trevino was a consummate medical professional and a dedicated officer, one who never missed a UTA.
  She said Trevino was once immunizing reservists about to deploy and, save for a few breaks, gave immunizations to those deploying for 18 hours.
  "When I pulled her off the line, she was so exhausted," said Garrett. "But that's how dedicated she was."
  But, Garrett said, there was more to Trevino than just her work ethic.
  "She was one of those people who love(d) her friends and family unconditionally," said Garrett. "She was a non-judgmental person."
  Maj. Michelle Wollenzin, the chief nurse at the 507 MDS and Trevino's supervisor, recalled how Trevino would persevere through tough experiences to make herself stronger.
  Wollenzin remembered their last temporary duty assignment together. They were at a two-week-long medical conference in San Antonio, Tex., where two instructors for a class they were to attend didn't make the conference.
  Instead of simply attending, Wollenzin said she and Trevino -- with a bit of urging from the former -- taught the class themselves. Wollenzin said Trevino didn't enjoy speaking in front of large groups, but she said Trevino was glad she taught the course.
  "Even though she was scared of it, she did it. She didn't allow her fears to hold her back from an opportunity to better herself," said Wollenzin.
Wollenzin also said Trevino was a great friend.
  "She was there for birthday parties and when babies were born," said Wollenzin. "She was just a really true friend. I don't have many of those and she was one of them."
  Trevino left behind two children, Abigail and Dominick Trevino, her parents, siblings, uncles and aunts, and many coworkers and friends here at the 507th.
  Garrett and Wollenzin each said that just knowing Trevino was a gift.
  "God brings certain people into your life for a reason, and she was one of those for me," said Garrett.
  "She was just an outstanding human being," said Garrett. "She died way too young."
  Wollenzin said, "I'm a better person for having known her and for her sharing her life with me. It was a privilege and an honor to call her my friend."