Jill Duggar Reflects on Preparing for the Funeral of Her Stillborn Daughter
Jill Duggar and her spouse, Derick Dillard, are reflecting on the memorial service they organized for their daughter, Isla Marie, who passed away.
“We arranged a funeral because it was something we truly desired,” Jill, 34, shared during the March 11 episode of her sister Jinger Duggar’s podcast, along with her husband, Jeremy Vuolo. “I think that at any stage of pregnancy, it’s easy to minimize it and say, ‘Oh, you’re only this many weeks [or] that many weeks.’”
She added, “What matters is whatever way you feel is appropriate to honor your baby and commemorate their life meaningfully.”
Jill and Derick, 37, revealed in an April 2024 social media post that their daughter “passed away in utero” a month prior.
“At some point during the pregnancy, there are state laws regarding how to bury the baby, or similar requirements,” Jill, a mother to three sons, explained in the podcast. “It was very beneficial for us to engage in the grieving process in a tangible way.”
Jill noted that she had observed her mother, Michelle Duggar, and several of her sisters “grieve” their own pregnancy losses. (Michelle, 59, faced a miscarriage in 2011 with her and husband Jim Bob Duggar’s 20th child before several of her daughters encountered their own losses.)
“Having seen others go through it allowed me to incorporate some of their experiences, and thankfully, I had more knowledge and resources available to me,” Jill said. “I reached out to my friends—starting with a nurse I knew from the hospital who was incredibly supportive.”
One of Jill’s friends is involved with Holy Sews, an organization that provides clothing for infants who have passed away, and helped provide an outfit for Isla’s service.
“She went above and beyond, even monogramming our little blanket,” Jill remembered. “The hospital provided items like poppy plates, and my friend gave us a small box and some books. That helped me process as well.”
Jill also found comfort in “doing things as a family.”
“We visited the cemetery where we laid Isla to rest,” Jill noted. “Most cemeteries have designated areas for babies, which often accommodate burials regardless of the gestation period, provided it’s under a year. The only costs are for the opening and closing of the ground and purchasing your own vault.”
Jill, a Counting On alum, confessed that returning home from the hospital without her baby made her feel “like a train wreck.” Holding a burial service offered her comfort.
“It was a feeling unlike anything I’ve experienced—an overwhelming sense of loss and disconnection from a part of me that I desperately wanted to hold,” Jill said, her voice shaky with emotion. “I felt as though I lost my child and couldn’t find them, yearning for their return home. … I was almost inconsolable, yet I knew I was resting in Christ and trusted that He would guide us through.”
