Jill Heathers Bouvier (formerly known as James Daniel Bouvier) died on October 3, 2024 in Omaha, NE by suicide, freeing herself from a lifetime battle with depression.

Learning about Jill may come as a surprise to some of you. Please know that we are 100% supportive of everyone who lives their most authentic lives and hope you are as well. (If not, please follow Jill’s mother’s advice:  Be nice.) We are deeply grateful Jill had a warm and welcoming community of friends and found family to carry her through the challenges of life.

Jill leaves behind loving fiancée Callie Rhoads in Omaha, NE, sister Marie Bouvier in Ridgefield, WA (Cameron and two children), and was predeceased by her mother Fumie Nakaguki Bouvier (8/5/2022) and father Arthur Michael Bouvier (11/19/2013).

Jill was born in Owensboro, Kentucky on 4/24/1970. She graduated from the University of Louisville then joined the U.S. Army, where she worked as an Explosives Ordnance Technician. After her honorable discharge from service, she worked for MKM Engineers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, making spaces safe for others by clearing explosives and environmental contamination from sites nationwide. Outside of work, Jill was a gifted artist with a sharp sense of humor who could hold a grudge like nobody’s business. In Omaha, Jill was actively involved in Transformative, a transgender/non-binary support adult support group. She enjoyed cooking, baking, and eating, but her true passion was collecting things—anything.

Jill went to great lengths to make other people smile—especially with gift giving. Jill surprised the family one Christmas by constructing a Christmas tree from plywood, painting it green, and topping it with a silver banister knob. She gave her mom 50 individually wrapped rolls of toilet paper for her 50th birthday--her favorite gift ever. She sent her sister a birthday gift of the entire Eminem CD and DVD catalog, Eminem photo book, blonde hair dye kit, Hanes tank tops, and several large bags of M&Ms (her sister wasn’t a fan—but it allowed Jill to proclaim herself the Queen of the Theme Gift, which was true). We’ll continue the tradition, but we’ll never top her. We hope family, friends, and colleagues will share their stories of adventures with Jill, which are legendary.

Jill was a very special person who deeply loved her friends and community. She will always be remembered for her quick, dry, sarcastic wit, her loving and generous heart, and her kindness, generosity, and compassion—but most of all, her stoic scowl that hid her beautiful smile will forever be etched on our hearts.

Jill’s passing has been devastating for all of us. But we’re grateful that it gave us the chance to build a bridge between family and friends, between the person some of us used to know and the person Jill was proud to become, each of us learning and seeing something we didn’t know before. Our hearts are broken but lifted together by the amount of love on both sides. We should all be so lucky to be mourned so well.

According to Jill’s wishes, there will be no funeral, and a Celebration of Life will be held for friends and family at Bellevue University, the John B. Mueller Administrative Building, on Thursday, 10/31/24 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Symposium Room.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to help Jill's found family with expenses, including the Celebration of Life and future Memorial fund. Thank you.

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