Jessica Rene Porter

1983 - 2025

Jessica Rene Porter

April 22, 1983 - April 12, 2025

Jessica Rene Porter, 41, passed from this world in 2025, leaving behind a legacy of courage, compassion, and hard-won grace.

Born in Texas in 1983, Jessica served as a submariner in the U.S. militaryone of the few, and one of the proud. Her strength was quiet but unshakable, forged under pressure and shaped by a deep desire to serve, protect, and understand the world around her.

Jessica was a person of remarkable depth. She was loving, complex, brave, and fiercely loyal. She gave generously even when she had littlealways more concerned for others than for herself. She saw people others overlooked and offered kindness where it was most needed and least expected.

She lived as a transgender woman in a world that did not always return her dignity. Yet through rejection, pain, and the long shadow of illness, she remained someone who reached out, who showed up, and who gave her heart freely. Her life was a testament to what it means to keep loving even when it hurts.

Jessica's final years were marked by physical and emotional hardship, including the effects of HIV-related neurological decline. But she never stopped being Jessica: strong, stubborn, giving, and full of a quiet, enduring fire.

She is remembered by those who knew her not just for her struggle, but for her smile, her stories, and the way she made people feel less alone. She was hard to love at times, but never undeserving of it. Her friendship was a gift one deeper and more profound than many knew while she lived.

A celebration of Jessica's life will be held on May 30th at 3:00 p.m. at Swallow Coffeehouse in Lake Mills, Iowa. All are welcome to join in remembering her, honoring her truth, and carrying forward the light she left behind.

Jessica is finally free from pain. We believe fiercely , faithfully that she is held in the arms of a God who knew her name, who called her beloved, and who has welcomed her home.