Kenneth Duane Bernhardt

When Kenneth Duane Bernhardt walked into the room, those in his company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Kenneth was and how he impacted those around him. Kenny was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Kenny wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Kenny was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve him well throughout his life.

Kenny was born on October 16, 1978 at Fairfax Hospital in Virginia. He was the son of Susan Rankin. Kenny was raised in Falls Church, VA. Always at the ready with a good joke, he grew up to be quite a humorous person. While some who knew Kenny might describe him as an idealist, his friends and family understood well that Kenny was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to him.

Kenny was raised with two siblings. He had one younger sister, Sandra and one younger brother Josh. Kenny was very accepting and supportive of his family. He was perceived as the central person in his family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Kenny was known for his wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, this drew the admiration of many who knew him.

As a young boy, Kenny was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew him into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Kenneth was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with his peers. He was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Kenneth took part in baseball and football. In his spare time he liked going to the batting cages and hanging out with his friends. Kenny had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity he and the many childhood friends he shared might discover.

During his high school years, Kenneth responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. He graduated from George C. Marshall High School in 1997. Kenny was a very good student, and generally did well in his courses. Kenny absorbed as much as he could from all of his teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using his imagination to master his assignments. For Kenny, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to his ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Kenny a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to him to discuss just about anything.

With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought him an endless stream of friends, Kenny was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Kenny was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. He always seemed aware of what was going on with people around him and throughout his life he made many, many friends. While growing up, some of his best friends were Kun Kim, Julie Peoples and Larry Meredith. Later in life, he became best friends with Rene Amaya and Lucas Ruedas. He met the love of his life, Sara Contreras in 2004.

Kenny was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made him an exceptional worker. His primary occupation was Sales. Kenny was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize him. Kenny had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of his gift for insight. Kenny's fellow workers saw him as a supporter and a mentor.

Because Kenny loved to have a broad variety of activities in his life, he took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. His favorite pursuit was working out at the gym. Kenny had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of his favorite pastimes. However, Kenneth's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

Kenny derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. His charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. In high school, Kenny played baseball and football. Kenny was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching his favorite events whenever he got the opportunity. Top of his list were watching the Philadelphia Eagles play.

Kenny's love of improvising in his daily life was a perfect fit for his enjoyment of traveling. His favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manor fit his personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Kenny took his vacations seriously, well, as seriously as he possibly could. Favorite vacations included going to the beach.

He is survived by his mother, Susan; his stepfather, Ron; his grandfather, Charles; his sister, Sandra; his brother, Josh; his niece, Aniya; his nephew, Julius; his uncles Jimmy and John; his cousins Heather, Kaitlyn, Tyler and Dylan. Services were held at Murphy Funeral Home in Falls Church.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Kenny. He was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. He had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While he was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Kenneth Bernhardt for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Kenny was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with his loved ones.