Nancy Booth Kern

Nancy Kern, 89, was born in Cambridge, Ohio, to a glass factory worker and a schoolteacher. She always hated the cold, and one day on her three-block walk to school in a bitter ice storm, as the freezing wind whipped through her P-coat, she vowed she would never live in cold weather, and move someplace warm when she grew up.

Nancy went to Cambridge High School, class of 1950, and Ohio State, class of 1954, earning a BS in Home Economics. Go Buckeyes!

Her first job out of Ohio State was as a flight attendant for TWA. In 1955 she met the love of her life, the dashing fighter pilot Charles Kern, aka Charlie. They got married and had three children together, Charles Jr., William, and Nancy Kay.

Later, as part of her professional development, she became a lifelong member of the American Association of University Women and finished her Master’s in Home Economics at the University of Arizona.

Part of her journey as an Air Force wife meant doing what all Air Force wives do: that is, moving. In her lifetime, Nancy saw many different stations in the US and abroad, including Germany and Zaire in central Africa. As tourists, she and Charlie traveled extensively in Europe, and to far-off locales in the Middle East, South America, and even Antarctica. She worked as an English teacher in Germany and eventually as a reservation agent for Southwest Airlines.

Nancy and Charlie decided to “just say when” and retired to Hawaii in 1996. But Charlie felt San Antonio, TX, calling him home, so they came back to the mainland after only a few years and settled in Blue Skies of Texas West. He died in 2015.

Being a widow and dealing with pandemic lockdowns was difficult for Nancy (I think we can all relate to COVID-19 hard times). So in the final two years of her life she moved out of Blue Skies to live next door to her son William, his wife Sophie, and grandson Wilson.

She had many friends whom she kept in contact with from the different stages of her life. She greatly appreciated her friendships, and every week spent hours catching up via smartphone. Nancy was especially proud of her grandchildren, Tamaki and Wilson Kern. She told anyone who would listen that her granddaughter Tamaki worked on Wall Street and her middle-schooler grandson Wilson was in the top 1% of math students in the US.

She died September 24, 2022, of complications from heart disease after a four-month illness. She loved Christmas, and the last song she heard was “Silent Night.” She is preceded in death by her parents William and Elma Booth; her brother William, Jr., her husband Charles Kern, and her daughter Nancy Kay. She is survived by Charles Jr., William and his wife Sophie, her granddaughter Tamaki Kern of San Francisco and grandson Wilson Kern of San Antonio.

She is deeply missed.

Her graveside service will be at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery and coincide with her birthday, October 21. The funeral is limited to immediate family as she didn't want anybody to make a fuss. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place • Memphis, TN 38105.