Jenna "Troy" D. Russell, age 42 of Victor and formerly of Dows, Iowa, died on
Sunday, January 10, 2021 at her home in Victor. A public visitation will be held
from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm on Sunday, January 17, 2021 at the Smith Funeral Home
in Victor. Social distancing and face masks will be required for those
attending the visitation. A public memorial service will be held at 4:00 pm on
Sunday, January 17, 2021 at the Smith Funeral Home in Victor with Rev. Roger
Dykstra, pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Iowa City, officiating. Social
distancing and face masks will be required for those attending the service. The
service will be live streamed on the Smith Funeral Home Facebook page beginning
at 3:45 pm. A public visitation will be held from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm on
Sunday, January 24, 2021 at First Lutheran Church in Dows. Social distancing
and face masks will be required for those attending the visitation. A public
memorial service will be held at 4:00 pm on Sunday, January 24, 2021 at First
Lutheran Church in Dows with Rev. Laurel Meester officiating. Social distancing
and face masks will be required for those attending the service. In lieu of
flowers, memorials may be designated to the Jenna Russell Memorial Fund to
benefit local park and recreation programs in Victor, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Iowa City, Hospice Compassus of Cedar Rapids, or First Lutheran Church of
Dows, mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 485, Victor, IA 52347 or
Ewing Funeral Home, PO Box 396, Dows, IA 50071. Troy Donovan Russell was born to
Craig Earl Russell and Regina Rae (Hart) Russell on October 6, 1978 in Mason
City, IA. He was raised in Dows and graduated from Dows High School with the
class of 1997. In the summer before his senior year, he ran a full marathon from
Storm Lake to Marathon, IA. He received a BA degree in sports management in 2001
from Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, IA, where he ran cross country
and track. Troy was united in marriage to Dezirae Smith on September 27, 2003 in
Clinton, IA and their union was blessed with three children, Savannah, Mollee
and Kinnick. Their marriage later ended in divorce. Troy was united in marriage
to Jennifer Johnson on October 1, 2011 in Fort Dodge, Iowa and their union was
blessed with a son, Gavin. Their marriage later ended in divorce. Troy resided
in Victor, Iowa for six years and was a manager at Casey's General Store in
Victor for four years and two years in Montezuma. In 2016, he transitioned to
living his life as a female and changed his name to Jenna. Jenna's greatest joy
was being a parent and cherished every moment with her children. She was an
outdoors person who loved hiking and camping. Her other enjoyments were coaching
and refereeing sports, traveling, jigsaw puzzles, and juggling. She was planning
on thru hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in April of 2020 and
received the diagnosis of having pancreatic cancer on March 10th. She is
survived by her parents, Craig and Jeanne Russell of Dows; four children,
Savannah, Mollee, Kinnick, and Gavin Russell; brother, Clinton (Erin) Russell of
Papillion, Nebraska and their children, Kennedy and Ainsley; paternal
grandmother, Norma Russell of Dows; and many uncles, aunts, and cousins. She was
preceded in death by her paternal grandfather, Bernard Russell; and maternal
grandparents, Leo and Charlotte Hart.