Jennifer Blick
Jennifer Kay Blick, age 44, of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota died on January 24, 2025, at Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Visitation will be on Friday, January 31, 2025, from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm at Sturm Funeral Home, Sleepy Eye Chapel with the Rosary at 3:30 pm and Parish Prayers at 3:45 pm prior to the visitation. Visitation will continue on Saturday from 10:00 am until 11:00 am at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Sleepy Eye. Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Sleepy Eye on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at 11:00 am. The clergy will be Fr. Craig Timmerman. Interment will be at Saint Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Arrangements are with Sturm Funeral Home in Sleepy Eye. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sturmfh.com.
Jennifer was truly a once-in-a-lifetime gem! Her many facets were how she shared her inner light with those around her. Jennifer was an intelligent individual, having graduated as the Salutatorian for the Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s Catholic School Class of 1998 and then graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of St. Thomas in 2002. During her time at St. Thomas, she may have only been pre-med for a day before she decided to switch to a double major in Theology and Elementary Education with a concentration in Communication Arts and Literature. This led her to fulfilling her dream of working at Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s. She held multiple positions there over the course of 20+ years, but ultimately it was her love of reading that brought her to becoming the elementary librarian. This vocation allowed her to share that love with the students, helping and encouraging them to find an author or a series that they would enjoy and instill in them their own love of reading. She enjoyed watching the students succeed, and was there to lend a helping hand whenever they needed one. Jennifer also had so much compassion for those who needed extra help or needed a friend in their corner. She saw the best qualities in those kids and helped them in any way she could to reach their potential.
St. Mary’s was one of the most important places in Jennifer’s life. She was a faith-filled individual who wanted to share her love for God and the creativity that He gave her, by helping with the Development Department, taking photos around school for the Facebook and Instagram pages, helping plan Catholic Schools’ Week’s Family Fun Night, and putting on the annual Book Fair, to name a few. She was also involved with the Parish Festival, spearheading the Big Ticket Raffle with her cousin. She volunteered her time whenever she was able and loved getting to know the students and their families outside of the library.
Jennifer also used her creativity with the Miss Sleepy Eye Ambassador Organization. As a former Miss Sleepy Eye, Jennifer saw the importance of giving back to the community that she called home, and helped transform the program into being one that focused more involvement in the community. Jennifer was always coming up with ideas, including making each year’s Princess Party filled with different engaging activities, as well as the Park Play Dates, which got kids outside and moving around. But for those lucky few, the Murder Mystery Parties were where she shined! Her quick wit and her knack for zingers kept the ambassadors on their toes and she was a party favorite every year.
Making friends came easy to Jennifer, as she always found ways to connect with people. She was fiercely loyal to her closest friends, dropping everything to be there for them in their times of need. She also had the kindest heart, remembering small details or milestones, sending cards to someone who needed a day brightener or gifts to her friends’ children for their birthdays or Christmas. She always looked forward to going on adventures with her friends, knowing they were all going to experience something new together, and enjoying a delicious slice of pizza afterwards! She was so thoughtful, always putting others before herself. Best of all, her sense of humor was often unexpected but intentional to make the other person smile.
But the most important facet of Jennifer was her love for her family. Growing up with her parents and her younger sister, they were a tightknit group who faced each challenge that came their way together. Her love for her extended family was also apparent, babysitting her cousins when they were younger, helping choose books that encouraged them to read more, finding the perfect Christmas gifts for them, or being a Godmother to Anika, a title that was her pride and joy. She absolutely loved getting to see the next generation of cousins grow into little people that she could form a bond with. She loved them like they were her own!
Finally, a facet that Jennifer never wanted but earned time and again was how much of a fighter she was. She was dealt a tough hand shortly after graduating from St. Thomas, developing kidney disease that would take her through twists, turns, plummets, and lulls. She faced each new challenge head-on with grace and dignity, always wanting to make sure she didn’t look as sick as she felt, so no one felt bad for her. She defied the odds many times, sometimes being considered a medical miracle that her body was able to take on the unthinkable. In the end, Jennifer turned into the diamond we always knew she was, handling the pressure that can only bring it fully to life.
Jennifer is survived by her mother Cheryll and her sister Kelly, as well as uncles, aunts and cousins. She was preceded in death by her father, Loren; grandfather, Dennis Nelson, grandparents, Nick and Rosemary Mertz and Ed and Julie Blick; great aunts, Sr. Nicholine Mertz, Inez Mertz, Dolores Regimbal and Mary Jane Baechler; uncles, Kim Mertz, Nick Mertz III and Lowell Blick; aunt, LuAnn Blick; cousins, Cole Mertz, Andrew Mertz, Dylan Maas and Charles Blick; and godfather, Gary Blick.
