Jill Smokler

Jill Renee Smokler, beloved daughter, sister, and mother, passed away on June 22, 2026, at her home in Baltimore after a courageous two-year fight with glioblastoma. She was 48. Born July 1, 1977, in Boston and raised in Swampscott, Massachusetts, Jill grew up to becomea writer, entrepreneur, and truth-teller whose voice reached millions. In 2008, she founded Scary Mommy — a blog that grew into one of the most widely read parenting communities in the world — and became a two-time New York Times bestselling author. She gave a generation of
mothers permission to be honest about the beauty and the difficulty of raising children, and built a community around that honesty that outlasted everything. More than anything she built, Jill was proudest of her three children. She was funny, fierce, generous, and entirely herself until the very end.

She is survived by her children, Lily, Ben, and Evan; her mother, Kathy Epstein of Baltimore; her father, Drew Epstein, and his partner, Sandy Jacobs, of Swampscott, Massachusetts; her brother, Matt Epstein, his wife, Bari, and their children, Maxwell and Gabriel, of South Orange, New Jersey; her best friend, Julie Bender of Olney, Maryland; and her dog, Leo.

A celebration of Jill's life will be held at Sol Levinson's Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208, on Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 12 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Brain Tumor Network at braintumornetwork.org/donate. The famiily is receiving at 8205 Spring Bottom Way, Pikesville, MD on Wednesday from 3-7 pm and Thursday following the service until 7 pm.