Heaven welcomed Jaclyn Kathleen Strutt (42) home on March 28, 2026, after a brave, five-year battle with cancer. She passed away peacefully at her home in Edina, MN, surrounded by family and close friends. Jaclyn was a bright, beautiful soul whose faith, creativity, and courage left a lasting impression on those around her.
Jaclyn was born on April 18, 1983, in Des Moines, IA, the daughter of Marty and Jody Sprock. Jaclyn was a shy and gifted child who excelled in school, effortlessly learned the piano, and created artwork hinting at a lifelong gift. The oldest of three girls, Jaclyn was the natural family leader – directing early childhood Christmas recitals, choreographing gymnastics routines, and steadily shaping the lives of those closest to her.
Jaclyn met the love of her life, Jon, while managing their high school basketball team. During their 27-year journey together, they were the perfect balance of spontaneity and steadiness, building a marriage based on partnership, honesty, and laughter. Together they raised four children in an energetic, faith-filled home where imagination and activity shaped daily life.
The couple attended the University of Iowa, where Jaclyn earned her PharmD, and later lived in Providence, RI, and St. Louis, MO. Jaclyn built a rewarding career as a clinical transplant pharmacist in St. Louis, where her daughter Peyton was born and her world expanded in the most beautiful way. A few years later, the family settled in Minneapolis, MN, where Jaclyn continued her pharmacy career while welcoming three boys – Bennett, Nathan, and Hunter (her little “chicken nugget”).
Jaclyn’s greatest masterpiece was her family. She naturally balanced tea parties and princesses with the rough-and-tumble play of boyhood, always encouraging her children to explore and uncover what brought them joy. Jaclyn had a way of turning ordinary afternoons into small, unforgettable celebrations. Her homemade crafts and activities rivaled anything seen on Pinterest. She built a home where learning was weaved into the rhythm of daily life – spending hours reading stacks of books, sounding out words, and flipping through flashcards. Jaclyn filled holidays with tradition and somehow made every birthday feel like the most important day of the year. To know Jaclyn was to know joy made on purpose.
Jaclyn loved photography and travel, always looking forward to their annual vacations to Disney and Cape Cod. Her camera became a second language, capturing candid frames of painted fingers and frosted faces, beach-bucket castles, and the wide-eyed wonder of Christmas mornings. Those images are now a lasting legacy – proof of a life lived fully and a love that will continue to speak through pictures.
To her family and friends, Jaclyn’s infectious smile and her dry, effortless humor were her quiet superpowers. With a perfectly placed one-liner or a mischievous eyebrow, Jaclyn would suddenly have the whole room laughing. Even in difficult times, her wit reminded us of how much light she carried. Jaclyn taught us that celebration can be intentional, small rituals matter, and faith can steady the hardest of days. Her photographs, traditions, and resilient strength will remain with those who loved her.
Jaclyn is survived by her husband, Jonathan (Jon) Strutt; their four children, Peyton, Bennett, Nathan, and Hunter; her parents, Martin (Marty) and Jody Sprock; two sisters, Kristin Tiedt (Adam) and Katelyn Sprock; nephews, Owen and Asher; her parents-in-law, David and Marci Strutt; four siblings-in-law and their families, and a wide circle of friends and church communities.
