Mitchell "Mitch" McKernan

Mitch was born on 21 July 1994 in Fort Macleod before moving to Calgary when he was six years old. He went on to attend John Ware Elementary and later Henry Wisewood High School. He attended the University of Victoria for several years before leaving to pursue other interests.

Mitch had a keen interest in other cultures and was fortunate to have travelled to many places in his young life. These included trips with his father to Australia (his father’s home country) and Jordan and trips with his mother and sister to many places including Costa Rica, and Mexico. He enjoyed adventure travel including crossing Iceland through the highlands with a group of friends and Patagonia with another travel friend. A solo trip through South Asia including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Bali and Nepal was a highlight for him.

Mitch developed a love for surfing while attending the University of British Columbia and was able to surf Bondi beach while visiting Australia. He also enjoyed skiing and hiking as well as playing golf. Mitch was highly intelligent and had an inquiring mind, He was a keen reader from an early age, tackling Harry Potter when he was five years old. He enjoyed cooking and was quite experimental when a child at developing new recipes including less successful offerings such as green tea and Cheerio ice-cream. His enjoyment of cooking led to him working in the kitchen of Native Tongues in Calgary where he developed a community of friends who cared deeply for him. Board games also were popular in the family growing up and he spent much time researching the best strategies to win the game.

Mitch is survived by his father, Peter (Adele), his sister, Kaitlin (John), his grandparents Andrew and Donna Krebes (Calgary) and Hugh and Margaret McKernan (Sydney, Australia) and his uncles in Calgary Dave and Rob Krebes (Christy) and his uncle Mark (Australia). He was predeceased by his mother Corinne McKernan who passed away tragically in 2014.

His memory will be cherished by all who knew him and he will be sorely missed.

A private memorial gathering was held for immediate family on 10 July 2024. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta.