Makenzi Nichole Kern, known affectionately as Kenz, died unexpectedly on June 8 after health complications while on a trip to St. Barthelemy Island. She was 26, having turned 26 just two days earlier on June 6.
Her obituary on www.hoyfuneral.com describes a life marked by warmth, humor, and a strong pull toward the people around her. Friends and family remembered her as silly, goofy, and someone who could lift the mood in any room.
From Council Bluffs to Iowa State
Kern grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and graduated from Lewis Central High School in 2018. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University in 2022, where she also cheered for the Cyclones.
Those years at Iowa State helped build friendships that remained important long after graduation. The obituary says she stayed closely connected to many of the people she met there.
Career and everyday life
After college, Kern began working at the YMCA of Greater Omaha. She first served as a Youth and Family Director before later becoming Membership Director for the Armbrust Branch.
Outside of work, she was devoted to her friends, her family, and her cat Dusty. The obituary also recalls a childhood habit that reflected her instinct to put others first, including letting other kids go down the playground slide before her.
Family bonds and remembered moments
Kern loved being on the water, from swimming to boating and water skiing. During a Disneyworld trip, she even talked her mother into going to the pool in the middle of a rain storm, and in St. Barths she tried a seabob for the first time.
Her relationship with her sister, Delani, was especially close. The obituary says they moved in together recently and could fight constantly, but would have defended each other fiercely.
She is survived by her mother, Teri Dietchler, and David Dietchler; her father, Chris Kern, and Lona Smart; her sister, Delani Kern, and Chase Ahlers; her boyfriend, Alan Dungan; step-siblings Kyleigh Austin and Alex Smart; and grandparents Merl and Karen Bever, Bonnie Waters, and Chuck Kern.
The obituary adds that she was deeply loved by many extended family members and friends. Celebration of Life services are pending.