Jill Duggar and her husband Eric Dillard have laid their stillborn daughter to rest.
The couple, who announced they had lost their “beautiful daughter” during the fourth month of their pregnancy, organized a funeral for the little one.
‘Isla Marie, our little girl. We will love you forever and hold you in our hearts until we hold you in heaven. Laid to rest 4/19/2024,” the grieving parents shared Tuesday, alongside a photo of a white box covered in white and pink flowers and a stuffed bunny on a table in the sanctuary of their church.
There was a vase of pink roses and carnations nearby.
The program for the service included the photos Jill, 32, and Derick, 35, used to announce the pregnancy loss, with the baby’s name Isla Marie Dillard and the words “Planted on Earth to bloom in Heaven ‘ on the front.
Jill Duggar, 32, and her husband Eric Dillard, 35, laid their stillborn daughter to rest
‘Isla Marie, our little girl. We will love you forever and hold you in our hearts until we hold you in heaven. Laid to rest on April 19, 2024,” the grieving parents shared on Tuesday
The inside of the program contained the first four verses of Psalm 23.
At the bottom of the page they added the meaning of her name: Isla ‘Devoted to God’ and Marie ‘Desired child and beloved.’
At the post-funeral gathering at their Arkansas home, the couple set up a table with books and toys they wanted to share with Isla had she lived.
The couple are parents to Israel, nine, Samuel, six, and Frederick, 21 months.
The pair have relied on their faith to get them through.
They shared more Bible verses and a sweet card from devastated Jill who wrote: ‘I carried you every second of your life. And I will love you every second of it.”
A pink heart-shaped cake was placed on the refreshment table.
They offered fellow mourners a farewell keepsake, a paper heart filled with flower seeds that they hoped would resonate in Isla’s memory.
The couple shared photos from the program for the funeral of their daughter, who was stillborn in the fourth month of pregnancy
During a post-funeral gathering at their home, the couple shared more Bible verses and a note Duggar wrote to their daughter that read, “I carried you every second of your life.” And I’ll love you every second of me
Mourners a farewell keepsake, a paper heart filled with flower seeds that they hoped would grow in Isla’s memory
Jill revealed earlier this month that she had suffered a heartbreaking stillbirth when she was four months pregnant.
She and her husband wrote an emotional message to share the news with their fans.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the stillbirth of our beautiful daughter, Isla Marie Dillard. Jill was four months pregnant (delivery in August) when we found out our baby died in utero,” they wrote.
Duggar and Dillard added that they were especially excited about the prospect of bringing a new member into their family.
‘From the moment we found out we were pregnant, we couldn’t wait to meet our baby. “Isla was loved from the start and her three big brothers were so excited to introduce her to their world,” they wrote.
The couple concluded by thanking their longtime fans for their continued support as they dealt with the stillbirth of their child.
“We appreciate your prayers as we continue to grieve and heal from the loss of our little Isla Marie,” they wrote.
Duggar and Dillard first met in 2011, and tied the knot in June 2014.
Jill revealed earlier this month that she had suffered a heartbreaking stillbirth when she was four months pregnant
Duggar previously suffered a miscarriage with son River Bliss in 2021
The couple started a family with the birth of their son Israel, nine, in 2014, and they welcomed two more boys named Samuel, six, and Frederick, one, in 2017 and 2022 respectively.
Jill and her family have distanced themselves from the Duggars in recent years and have not spoken to her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, since her memoir was released in 2023.
Jim, Michelle and their 19 children starred on the TLC series 19 and Counting from 2008 to 2015
Duggar previously suffered a miscarriage with son River Bliss in 2021.
Last year, Jill opened up about how she almost died while giving birth to son Samuel after the then-child suffered a stroke during childbirth.
She revealed the harrowing story of the birth of her second child in her powerful memoir, titled Counting the Cost.
She explained how she was rushed into surgery for an emergency caesarean section after a uterine rupture, before discovering the newborn had also suffered a brain haemorrhage.
Newborn Samuel, who was “unresponsive at birth,” was transferred to a NICU at another hospital and Jill wasn’t able to meet him for the first time until four days later.
Duggar, 32, who grew up in front of the camera on the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting and other iterations of the show including Counting On, has been estranged from her parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar for several years.
There was no mention of Isla’s loss on the Duggar Family Instagram account.
In her book Counting the Cost, Duggar explained the “secrets and manipulation” that went on behind the scenes of the show and as they left the religious organization, Institute in Basic Life Principles, into which she and Dillard, 35, had been indoctrinated. .
The couple also told their story in the documentary Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets.