Jessica Anne "Jessie Mausi" Chenault

Jessica Anne Chenault, 41, of Dallas, Texas originally of Columbia, Missouri passed away unexpectedly from a stroke on February 2, 2026.

Born October 27, 1984, Jessica would like to remind everyone she was the first of four children of James "Jim" A. and Joan (Lyles) Chenault III, of Rocheport, MO. The other three children are Amy (Ben) John of Madison, WI, Courtney Chenault of New York, NY, and James "Jay" A. Chenault IV of Amsterdam, Netherlands. And we all know, her favorite label was aunt, as "Jessie Mausi" to Nico John of Madison, WI. Jessica was also the first grandchild. She is preceded in death by Gordon T. Lyles, James A., and Gloria (Meyer) Chenault II, and survived by Carol (Winkler, Lyles) Dustmann (Jerry) of St. Louis, Missouri. She will be missed by her extended family including Diane (Lyles) Weiss (Bob), Marielle Chenault, Richard (Angela) Chenault, her great aunts, cousins, friends and colleagues.

Jessie graduated from Columbia Catholic School (1999), Hickman High School (2003) and Truman State University (2007). As she once told friends, "It's hard to stay humble when you're smarter than everyone else." Jessica loved to learn, and continued to pursue learning through books, travel, and staying up to date on current events. But what Jessie loved to learn the most were new recipes. Her favorite recipes were the ones that used every dish in the kitchen. Interestingly enough, there are not many memories of Jessie actually washing all of those dishes! "For the most part, everything you do in the kitchen can be broken down into two categories: Baking and Cooking. Oh, and I suppose Cleaning, but that is not something I really enjoy, so it doesn't count." Jessie baking for your wedding or baby shower, your family birthday party, or your Boss's Day celebration was more like receiving a thorough recipe research paper on ingredient and flavor comparisons. It truly was Jessie's love language.

As someone who was a self-proclaimed hater of driving, why wouldn't she move to Dallas, Texas in 2012 to participate in turnpike traffic jams. Texas brought Jessica many things - the beloved Charlie the dog, acclimation to the warmer temps, and a proud career at the law firm Munck, Wilson, Mandala. But you would never dare catch her cheering for a Texas sports team; only engaging to debate why St. Louis sports are better.

Jess was an accumulator of knowledge, things and people. Knowledge of St. Louis Cardinals baseball, St. Louis Blues hockey, an extensive vocabulary, with sailor like twang when watching sports or was forced to drive, and a fluency in sarcasm. Collector of things including wines from her travels, cookbooks for days with her own corrections to the recipes, baking supplies that will be shared for generations and memories that will forever be treasured by those she made them with. But maybe the most impressive thing that Jess accumulated was her group of friends. Spread out between Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma, (and wherever in the world Kelly is) Jess' friends are the friends we have all hoped to meet.

So all in all, in memory of Jessica, bake a full recipe from scratch, watch a Cardinals baseball game, text your dad about Blues hockey, take your dog on a walk, stay up late talking with friends, and consider a donation to Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center, or City of Refuge - Columbia. A private service will be held at a later date. "People who love to eat are always the best people" - Julia Child.