Celebrity Deaths 2026: Catherine O’Hara, Eric Dane & More Fallen Stars

“Because of Jill’s vision, everyone here can still feel validated, understood and seen as they do the one of the hardest things you can do: parent,” Scary Mommy wrote in a June 22 Instagram post. “It’s a tribute to her that our community is still thriving nearly two decades later.”

The former mommy blogger first shared her glioblastoma diagnosis in 2024, noting that she was “not great” as she processed the terminal illness. 

“I'm doing pretty much how you'd expect,” Smokler told Today.com at the time. “I keep alternating between feeling so profoundly sad and so pissed off.”

In her final years, Smokler noted that her ex—whom she divorced in 2017 after he came out as gay—was a huge source of support, admitting her diagnosis brought them together in a “weird way.”

“We talk more and Jeff is very cognizant of what I will be missing out on,” she said at the time. “He’s helping me make the most of my time with the kids.”

While acknowledging her prognosis was deeply unfair, Smokler shared she was grateful to at least have time to spend with her family. 

“It’s so ridiculously bittersweet,” she said. “I’m trying to focus on the sweet part.”