Kerry Elizabeth Kennard, daughter of the late Lt. Col. Harold Mortimer Kennard, Jr. and Lilli Ann Kennard, passed away peacefully in Reno, NV on October 21, 2022 at the age of 61 after a progressive battle with Parkinson's Disease. Kerry is survived by her sons Kyle David (Erika) Cascinai and Brooks Peter Cascinai; her daughters Erin Rachelle Lau and Shaelyn Ann Lau; her brother David (Katie) Kennard; her sister Victoria (Tom) Myers; her sister-in-law Deborah (Bruce) Kennard; her step-mother Sharron Kennard; her grandson Dustin Paul Cascinai; her 7 nieces and nephews; and 15 great-nieces and nephews.

While we could continue writing this obituary from a template detailing the mundane facts of her life such as the schools she attended, the jobs she held, and the timeline of it all, it feels more important to highlight the heart of her life rather than the “successes” of it.

Kerry was born on January 19, 1961 in Wiesbaden, Germany as the youngest child of four. Her free and adventurous spirit was unmistakable as a child, as well as her deep love and big heart. Her heart led her to live a life continuously led by joy, love and bravery.

An instance of bravery in Kerry’s life is when she was a forest fire fighter at a young age. She loved this about herself and later loved to tell her children stories about the wicked heat of the flames that danced around her, the intense physical training required for such a job, her great friends who loved to tease her, and even the bee that got stuck between her uniform and her skin which stung her right on the chest.

Perhaps one of the most adventurous things she loved to reminisce on was how she dropped out of college to be a beach bum in San Diego. She always laughed when telling this story, her smile sure to be spread to all those listening.

Kerry was born to be a mother. Since having her first child, she was devoted to being the best mother she could. She met her first husband, Rick Cascinai, in high school and they later married and had two sons. She birthed Kyle in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1985 on November 29. Brooks was born five years later in Bishop, California on February 22, 1990.

Later in life when Kerry was living in Mammoth, California working at Corporate Threads, she met her second husband, Johann Lau. They eventually moved to Reno, Nevada where they had two daughters. Erin, born on September 9, 1995 and Shaelyn, born on August 9, 1998.

Kerry loved caring for her kids and dedicating her time to their joy and success. She was the best soccer and baseball mom, lovingly known as “the Sign Lady” for the incredible team banners she designed and created, as well as the unique custom jackets and hats. Her artistry not only showed in her contributions to her children’s sports teams, but also in their school projects. Kyle recalls how incredible his King Tutankhamen mask was for his Egyptian project and how all of the kids were jealous of how good it looked. Brooks recalls how she helped him make a space station that was almost an exact replica of the International Space Station.

Kerry found so much purpose in motherhood. Homemade meals every night and brown bag lunches with heart-shaped PB&Js were the norm. She loved to be sure her children were always looking their best by bringing them to the salon to get premium haircuts and color, and even laying out a pair of clothes every morning before school. She had boxes and boxes of decorations for each holiday, transforming the family home with every turn of the season. She loved surprises and new experiences. She brought her kids to several concerts to dance and sing together and she would always randomly bring home little gifts for her kids and say, “open your hands and close your eyes, and you will get a big surprise!” She even picked up her daughters from summer camp one day with a brand new tattoo on her ankle that she didn’t tell anyone about.

Kerry not only loved to be a mother, but she also loved to be a daughter and sister. Her admiration for her parents and siblings was evident in the fondness and joy in which she spoke of them all. Her mother, Lilli, passed away before Kerry’s own children could ever know her well, but through Kerry’s stories we know that Lilli loved to watch Wheel of Fortune and guessed all of the puzzles before the television contestants.

Kerry’s father, Harold, remarried to Sharron Kennard and Kerry loved her as her own mother. Kerry cherished family time and it was a tradition to spend several weekends and holidays at her father and step-mother’s house with all of her kids, siblings, nieces and nephews.

Perhaps it came with being the youngest of four siblings, but Kerry also had a competitive nature to her when it came to games. Her children will always remember all of the ping pong and pool tournaments with her, as well as all of the frisbee throwing and card games. Kerry never held back her skills and wouldn’t let her kids win on purpose. This taught them how to become better ping pong and pool players, but also really upset them (Kyle particularly) when she would win!

In the later years of Kerry’s life, she found love again with Joe Pollock and shared her motherly love with his two daughters, Catherine and Alex Pollock. Kerry and Joe shared many adventures together and even lived on Maui, Hawaii for a short time… one of her life long dreams! Joe played a profound role in Kerry’s journey with Parkinson’s and we are so grateful for the love they shared in her time of decline.

Kerry’s battle with Parkinson’s disease was undoubtedly a part of her life journey and an unfortunate one to say the least. Despite her physical and mental decline, the light and joy of her personality always shinned through. She was sure to dance around and sing the lyrics to her favorite songs when her children would play music for her. She even had moments of throwing the frisbee and shooting pool which lit her up from the inside out. Anytime she cracked a smile or laughed it was sure to remind her children of the pure love that created them.

Upon Kerry’s passing, her children are choosing to remember her not for the last several years of her life in illness, but rather for the majority of her life spent in adventure, freedom, love, spontaneity, devotion to motherhood, and joy. We will miss her greatly and will forever be inspired by her spirit and the impact she had on our lives. Most importantly, with her love surrounding us, we will show up in the world as her living legacies.

There will not be a funeral or memorial service for Kerry due to the widespread nature of her loved ones. Instead, please feel free to share memories, photos and donations on the memorial website (https://everloved.com/life-of…) Donations will go towards cremation expenses. 

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