Quinn Valor Stroud

With a grief deeper than words and a love that will never fade, I share that my son, Quinn Valor Stroud, left this world on May 20, 2025—just one month before his third birthday. There is no way to prepare for the loss of a child. There is no way to explain what it feels like to carry life inside you, to raise a soul so full of light—and then to have to say goodbye before he ever had the chance to grow into all he was meant to be.

Quinn was extraordinary. He was everything a mother could want in a child. He was bright, clever, and so far ahead of his age in the way he thought and felt and understood the world. He had a hunger to learn, to explore, to ask questions, and to name everything around him. He wanted to know how things worked. He wanted to understand. And he did. He soaked up the world like it was all meant just for him.

He had no fear of the unknown—he faced everything with bravery, curiosity, and wonder. I used to look at him and think, he’s going to do amazing things in this life. I never imagined I’d be writing this instead.

He was joy in its purest form. He had this smile that could melt away anything heavy. He’d wrap his tiny arms around your neck with such intensity, like he already knew how precious and short life could be. He was wild and gentle, silly and wise. He was a lover, through and through.

He adored cars and dinosaurs, rainbows and animals, especially dogs, he grew up around more dogs than other children, they were his friends. He loved the way the wind moved things, the sound of gravel under his feet, the way water splashed when he stomped in it. He noticed everything. And everything was worth noticing when he was around.

I will never stop aching for him. For the way he called me "Mommy," for the way he’d laugh from his belly, for the sound of his tiny feet running down the hall. He was my whole heart in one small, brave, beautiful body. And now that heart walks with me in silence, everywhere I go.

He is survived by me, his mommy, Jordyn Motschiedler; his step-dad, Andrew Chi, his father, Jaron Stroud, his grandparents, Tammy (Beep-bop) & Brooks (papa) Motschiedler, Schon and Sheila Stroud, and so many others who loved him. We are all better for having known him. We are all broken now that he’s gone.

Quinn, you were everything I ever needed. Everything I didn’t know I was missing. You changed me. You made me a mother. You made me believe in wonder again. I will carry you in every breath, every tear, every ray of light I see.

I love you forever, my sweet, wild, beautiful boy.

– Mommy