Jessica Michelle (Mills) Rehn

On the evening of July 26, 2016, Jessica passed away at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She went to the Lord surrounded by family sharing stories and laughter about her life.

Jessica was born on August 24, 1982 at Holy Cross hospital in Silver Spring to Sharon Fitzpatrick and Joe Mills.

Jessica Rehn was a faithful Christ-follower and a tough, kind, generous, smart, athletic woman.  She was a devoted loving mother, wife, sister, and friend who loved and served Jesus with everything she had.

She loved sports, playing three varsity sports in high school with her twin sister, and she especially enjoyed the Orioles, the Ravens, and Cal Ripken. She also wrote for the Blake high school paper.

Jessica Rehn loved being a wife and mother. Her two children Rachel and Seth brought her untold amounts of joy, and her husband enjoyed watching how much she cared for her children. He learned a great deal from her testimony and example.

It was important to her that she share her faith and took every opportunity to serve in church, outside of church, and on mission trips. She was an active helper with vacation bible school in her high school and college years, and later with the youth group at Andover Baptist church where she and Jonathan attended.

Throughout her life, Jess was always cheerful and friendly to everybody. She saw the good in people and was always upbeat, no matter what life threw at her. After her diagnosis instead of saying ‘breast cancer’ she changed it to ‘blessed cancer’ – the eternal optimist. She naturally but intentionally brought joy wherever she went, even into the chemo room where she lifted the spirits of the patients around her. Some even scheduled their treatments by asking when Jess would be there.

People have said that Jess was the poster child for Believe Big. Wherever she was, particularly in doctor’s offices and labs, she was promoting Believe Big. The organization was central to her several miraculous remissions and walking the path of integrative health. She wanted to share with the world everything she learned about health and healing. Jessica never gave up hope, and never stopped believing.

Jess had a tenacity and boundless enthusiasm to be envied. Her infectious smile spread throughout a room, and her quick wit lifted spirits wherever she went. She had an insatiable desire to help others, and always made the person she was talking to feel like the most important person in the room. Jess could love anybody, regardless of whether or not they seemed to deserve it.

Jess set an impossible standard of living, loving, and caring that few will ever reach, and though her time here was short we are so much better for knowing her. Jess fought the good fight of faith and we know that Jesus is saying ‘well done thou good and faithful servant’.

Jessica is preceded in death by her grandmother Emily Hulett, great-grandmother Marcelle Morris, grandfather Lou Glasgow and grandfather Richard Bowman.

She is survived by her husband Jonathan Rehn, children Seth and Rachel, identical twin Jo Ann Miller, brother Christopher Thacker, sister Jenna Palfrey, brother Justin Mills, sister Julianne Mills, brother Jason Mills, mother Sharon Fitzpatrick, Father Joe Mills, and a wealth of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and other family.

Thank you to everyone who helped her along her journey. From Dr. Griffiths and the team at St. Agnes to Dr. Prowell and Dr. Fetting at Johns Hopkins, to Dr. Grundman in Baltimore or Dr. Stacey and the Namaste team as well as Dr. Winters in Colorado or Keith at George Washington, Jess was backed by a tremendous team of caring individuals who supported her constantly. That support wasn’t only medical. Her friends, family, and particularly her church family at Andover Baptist helped her with daily life. Finally, the team at Believe Big was tremendously important to her, and she would shout her love for the organization from the rooftops if she could. Seeing Ivelise or listening to Jimmy Page on the radio was a highlight of any day for Jess. Thank you always to God whose salvation gives us the hope of everlasting joy with Him. To God be the glory.