Lisa Sylvia (Kennelly) Kuehn

It is with great sorrow that the family of Lisa Sylvia (Kennelly) Kuehn, age 48, announce her passing on December 16, 2023. Lisa was born July 17, 1975 in Grafton, ND, the daughter of Ronald and Coralee Kennelly. After the passing of her father Ron, her step-father Daniel Hoffarth became an important part of her life.

Lisa graduated from high school in the class of 1994 at Cass Lake-Bena High School, the old school. Besides cheerleading, her favorite activity was singing. She was well known in the Cass Lake/Bemidji area for her beautiful voice. After high school, she attended both Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College in Bemidji, MN, where she continued to embrace her love of music and singing and studied to become a certified nursing assistant.

She married the love of her life, Matthew Kuehn, on March 21, 1998. A few years later, they welcomed into the world two boys, Zachary and Noah, who were the joys of her life. Lisa wore many hats in her life, but the most important title to her was that of “Mom”. Throughout their childhood years and into adulthood, Zach and Noah kept their mom on the go, and she loved every minute of it.

After spending some time living in Washington, and near Minneapolis, MN, Lisa and Matthew settled in Big Lake, MN. Lisa was active in the community, where she served for several years on the Spud Fest committee and had recently started volunteering at the local food shelf.

Before putting her career on hold to raise the boys, Lisa worked in a variety of healthcare positions, but she had a special place in her heart for caring for the elderly. She was a nursing assistant at senior living facilities, worked as an administrative assistant at an eye care clinic, and had returned to her career at the local schools in the nursing offices, where she was both a nursing assistant, and their COVID coordinator during and after the pandemic. She was quick to offer a helping hand or shoulder to cry on, not just to her close friends and family, but to anyone who needed it.

Traveling and exploring new places was one of her favorite things to do, whether it was to the downtowns of big cities, sitting around a campfire with friends, relaxing on the warm beaches of Mexico, or just a quick weekend trip out of town to see something new. Closer to home, on warm summer nights, you could often find her enjoying a boat cruise on the local lakes, or fishing from the end of the dock with her toes in the cool water.

Lisa is survived by her husband of 25 years, Matthew, and sons Zachary and Noah (Big Lake, MN); mother, Coralee Kennelly (Monticello, MN); brothers, Marty (Rochelle) Kennelly (Bemidji, MN) and Matthew (Corrie) Kennelly (Apache Junction, AZ); parents-in-law Roger and JoAnn Kuehn (Bemidji, MN); sister-in-law Shari (Josh) Augustine (Bemidji, MN) and brother-in-law Chad Kuehn (Bloomington, IN). She is also survived by the other joys of her life, her nieces and nephews, Wyatt Kennelly, Lizzie Kennelly, Owen Augustine, Evan Augustine, Ethan Augustine, and Ellie Augustine, as well as by many beloved relatives, and an exceptionally long list of people who called her friend, all of whom were overjoyed to have her in their lives.

She was preceded in death by her father Ronald Kennelly, step-father Daniel Hoffarth, paternal grandparents Martin and Mabel Kennelly, maternal grandparents Edwin and Sylvia Schultz, uncle DuWayne Kennelly, aunt Mary Schultz and several members of her extended Hoffarth family that took her in as one of their own.

A Celebration of Life for Lisa will be held on Saturday, March 16th at noon at Saron Lutheran Church, 311 Lake Street South in Big Lake, MN.  

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