Jaclyn Mary Gulino Kaun

Jaclyn was born on November 9, 1982, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the second daughter of Patricia and Jack Gulino. Jaclyn was born with a congenital heart defect called Coarctation of the Aorta, and her early weeks and years were spent visiting the amazing team of surgeons at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Even with that cloud over her childhood, she was a happy, playful little girl and was adored by her family.

Thanks to her father’s career at then MCI, Jaclyn grew up living in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and eventually, the family moved to Texas.

Jaclyn attended middle school in Plano, was home-schooled for high school, and graduated at the age of 16. She attended college at Collin County Community College for 2 years, completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Texas A&M Commerce, and continued there to complete her Master of Science in Applied Psychology.

Jaclyn worked in several mental health settings, including Lakes Regional Community Center as a Program Monitor and Terrell Day Program as Supervisor, at LifePath Systems as a Program Administrator, and finally at North Texas Behavioral Health Authority as an Administrative Assistant UM/Care Coordinator.

Jaclyn had many and varied interests. She loved animals: especially dogs, cats, horses, and stingrays. In middle school, Jaclyn discovered a love of musical instruments, and she learned to play the flute and violin. She was in a bowling league with her father Jack, with whom she also shared a love of pool - both the kind you play with cue sticks and balls, and the kind you swim in. Jaclyn loved movies. She lost track of how many times she watched the Aliens franchise, Twister, Jumanji, and Jaws. Her husband David bought Jaclyn her dream car, a black Dodge Challenger, which she named Lillith, and loved beyond measure.

Jaclyn had a deep interest in the Holocaust. It was an interest born from her relationship with her mother’s friends, Lillian and Harry Abramowitz, who were Holocaust survivors. Her holocaust-themed library is vast, and she needed to hold the actual book for this subject.

Jaclyn had a complicated health history stemming from her childhood cardiac issues. In July of 2025, Jaclyn required surgery to replace two valves, among other procedures. She suffered complications after the surgery which kept her in the Cardiac ICU for over a month, and in the hospital overall, for six and a half weeks. The Congenital Heart Disease team at UT Southwestern did an excellent job managing her recovery, and she believed she was finally at the start of a healthier second half of her life. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas in July of 2026. She had complications caused by the location of the tumor which prevented her from beginning chemotherapy until the end of August. After one round of chemo, Jaclyn’s condition deteriorated significantly and became untreatable. She passed quietly Sunday morning, September 13, 2026, surrounded by her family.

Jaclyn is predeceased by her beloved father, Deacon Jack F. Gulino; Grandmothers Rose Pesce and Anna Gulino; her uncles Norman Strauss Jr., Tony Gulino, and Lou Gulino; aunts Anna Pesce, Annabelle Gulino, and Dolores Gulino; and her brother-in-law Paul Kaun. She is survived by her husband, David Kaun, her mother-in-law Ruth Kaun, and her stepchildren Eli “Bird” Dennison (River), Nick Kaun, Andrew Kaun (Marissa), and Matthew Kaun. She is also survived by her mother, Patricia Gulino; her aunts Antoinette Malm, Mary Strauss, and Virginia Gilhooly (Kevin); and by her uncle Andrew Pesce. She will be deeply missed by her cousins Marcy Johnson (Erik), Jenny Strauss, Norman Strauss III (Kerri), Kristy Trammell (Seth), Melissa Pesce, Joseph Pesce, Angela McKinney (David), John Richard Gilhooly (Ginger), Dawn Felice, Robert Gulino (Jessie), Vinny Gulino (Nikki), and last but hardly least, her precious pit bull-boxer mix, Vinny.

There will be an “Afternoon of Remembrance” on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Allen Family Funeral Options. The family will share their reflections in the Chapel at 2:30 pm. The reflections will be live-streamed and accessible via the following link: https://player.funeralvue.com/events/8e95nfdh/player The sharing of memories will be followed by appetizers and beverages in the main portion of the building until 5:00 pm.

Jaclyn will be laid to rest at Restland Memorial Park at a later date. 

In lieu of flowers, you may donate to one of the following charities, which were meaningful to Jaclyn:

The Love Pit Dog Rescue: https://www.thelovepitrescue.org

Children’s Health, Children’s Medical Center Foundation: https://give.childrens.com

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: https://pancan.org