OCEAN RIDGE — Iris Matthews Kern of Ocean Ridge died Oct. 7. She was 87.
Mrs. Kern will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by her loving husband of 61 years, Alfred “Al” R. Kern. She was the loving mother of Roy (Lori) of Peters Township, Pennsylvania; Dr. Tara (Pete) Rose of Peters Township, Pennsylvania; and a son, Dennis (Loraine) of Mesa, Arizona, who preceded her in death.
Mrs. Kern is also survived by her six grandchildren: Rod and Dr. Darby Kern; Nolan and Brea Kern; Jake and Ryan Rose.
Mrs. Kern was born to Herman and Velma Matthews in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 1933.
She attended Penn State Ogontz, then moved with her family to Atlantic Beach and met the love of her life, Al, at an officers dance at the nearby Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Iris and Al would spend three years at Naval Station Mayport and then another three years stationed in Honolulu, where they started their family.
In 1962, the couple moved to Moon Township, Pennsylvania, where she raised their children. They moved to Florida in 2000.
Mrs. Kern was an active lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, an avid reader and golfer and a member of Montour Heights Country Club, Moon Township, Williams Country Club, Weirton, West Virginia, and the Lost City Golf Club in Lantana.
Her hobbies included arranging flowers, and she loved to raise and tend orchids in her house and outside garden. Mrs. Kern held memberships in the Moon Township and Ocean Ridge garden clubs. She also enjoyed arts and crafts, including her much sought-after needlepoint Christmas stockings and pillows.
Mrs. Kern enjoyed a well-lived life and was a beautiful, soft-spoken, kind and gentle soul who will be sorely missed.
A celebration of life service will be planned after the coronavirus pandemic has eased.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the First United Methodist Church, 101 N. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach, FL 33435, or the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 28 W. 44th St., Suite 609, New York, NY 10036.
— Obituary submitted by the family
You need to be a member of The Coastal Star to add comments!
Comments