Obituary of Jennie Kern

Jennie L. Kern, 100 years and five months old, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother was born on May 17, 1921, in Rochester, NY, and died after a brief illness, on October 27, 2021, in Fairport, NY. She was predeceased by her husband of 50 years, Carl A. Kern; by her first husband, James E. Schleifer, who was killed in France during WWII; and by her sisters, Josephine (Oliver) Schwind and Hazel (John) Schleifer. She is survived by her four children, James T. (Alison) Schleifer; Nancy (Fred) Lake; Carl W. (Maria) Kern; and Joann (Michael) Long; by eight grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild; and by several nieces and nephews. She was a loving and remarkable woman, notable for her warmth, resilience, tolerance, energy, faith, kindness, and compassion. Final arrangements are being made by Cremation Service of Western New York; see their website for further information about Jennie L. Kern. A memorial service will be held at Asbury First United Methodist Church, 1050 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607, on Friday, November 19, at 3:00PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her name to Asbury First United Methodist Church. To know our amazing Mom is to be inspired! Our Mom was mostly a homemaker when we were growing up as a family with 4 children. Our Dad worked two jobs for as long as we all could remember so most everything was left up to mom regarding running the household, meals, and children upbringing. She was always there for us and encouraged us regardless of our pursuits even though she hadn’t herself finished high school. She and Dad made sure we had special family memories with Sunday afternoon drives in the country, annual family clambakes, and camping vacations all over the East coast. She had a difficult childhood since her mother died when she was very young and she bounced from an orphan asylum to family members, to friends, when she was growing up. It’s remarkable how good a role model she was since she really didn’t have one. We’ve watched how she lived in the moment and coped with tragedy. She had seen so much death in her century of lifetime experience and even while she grieved, she comforted others. When Joann’s daughter, Jennifer, died, she was the first person Joann turned to. She read her bible every morning and did exercises daily! Before the pandemic, she went to the YWCA weekly and rode a stationary bike for 30 minutes at 98 years old! She once went to Joann’s yoga class, and she was more flexible than Joann! In the last few years, she was thrown into the world of technology learning to receive emails, texts, Zoom meetings, and Skype. She had a delightful grin as she watched her first online church on her new iPad. She garnered a sizable following on Facebook where her pictures were posted of her over the years with her cheerful smile. Her numerous followers told us what an amazing and inspirational mother we had! We must agree! She always tried to stay positive and made the huge adjustment to moving into a nursing home at 100 years old! Our mother, Jennie, reflected her “bloom where you’re planted”, mindset. Her warrior prayer life and strong faith were her secret weapons in all circumstances. Her family was her everything, which was evident in her beautiful great big smile; a beautiful gift we will always remember. She will be missed terribly but memories of her are our treasures. Our family is so blessed.