Jill was born in December 20,1979 in McPherson, Kansas. She attended Canton-Galva school district and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas. She worked as the Director of Communications for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
On October 6, 2012, she married Matthew Lee, a minister of the Gospel and the love of her life. On June 28, 2018, Jill welcomed her beautiful boy, Jake, into the world. Jake was her pride, joy, and the most important part of her life.
Jill was an accomplished writer and an avid runner. She spent almost a decade communicating stories of faith from the world of professional and collegiate sports as the editor of FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine and published a book by the same name in 2011.
Jill’s transparent, vulnerable writing style encouraged and inspired many. It was her deepest passion to help people understand how much they are loved by God and how much they are worth to Him. She communicated in word and deed that not one single person—young, old, black, white, man, woman, single, married—is more or less valuable to the Lord of all Creation than the next, regardless of what he or she had done and that no one is any more or less useful to Him, either.
As a runner, Jill completed multiple half marathons and five marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2010. She loved to run. Even while on chemotherapy and battling cancer, Jill would run five miles per day up until a couple of weeks before her passing.
True to her way with words, Jill liked to nickname those she cared about the most. Jill is survived by her husband Matt “Pants” Lee, her son Jacob “Chi Chi” or “Tiny” Lee, her mother Wendy “Momsy” Brotton, her step-father Kim “Papa Bear” Brotton, her sister, Jami “Famous” North (Jami’s husband Adam and daughter, Anna), her step-mother Jackie “J-ma” Ewert, her aunt Georgia Unruh, three nieces and five nephews. She is preceded in death by her father, Robert Ewert, her uncle, Jim Unruh, and her grandparents.
Jill will be deeply missed by her friends, family, and all who knew her. A funeral service is scheduled for 1:00PM on Thursday, June 17 at Central Church of the Nazarene at 12600 W 87th Street Parkway in Lenexa, Kansas. The family will receive friends from 11AM to 1PM preceding the funeral service. A graveside service is scheduled for 10:00AM on Friday, June 18 at Canton Township Cemetery at 1541 27th Ave, Canton, Kansas.
