Kevin Ronald Franzen

Aug. 2, 1977-March 1, 2022

Kevin Ronald Franzen, 44, peacefully went to our eternal home with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 1, 2022. Kevin was born on Aug. 2, 1977, in Chicago, Illinois, and later adopted by parents Ronald and Cher’ie (Bergman) Franzen of La Grange, Illinois.

When Kevin was adopted by Ron and Cher, he was reunited with two of his biological siblings, Peter and Steven, who were also adopted by the couple. Other siblings in the large and loving family included Curt and later William and Veronica.

Kevin grew up in La Grange, Illinois. He attended Lyons Township High School and then served four years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman in Rhode Island, Virginia and North Carolina. Kevin received his B.A. from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, and later received his M.A. from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

He married his beloved wife, Ayanna Chambliss Franzen, on Oct. 23, 2010, in Thousand Oaks, California. They were blessed with a daughter, Madisyn Cher’ie, in 2011. Kevin was so proud of Madisyn for her many successes in dance, karate and art. Yet his greatest joy was watching her grow in her own personal relationship with the Lord and her always wanting to share the Good News of Christ with all her friends.

They enjoyed many family vacations to places like Disneyland, Washington D.C. and Texas. Yet their favorite family activities were getting luxury seats at a movie theater together, with popcorn of course,  and playing board games, sometimes for hours.

Kevin built a rewarding career in various marketing positions over the years, most recently as owner of 891 Marketing. He also received a certificate in Echocardiography from the WCUI School of Medical Imaging and worked as a Cardiovascular Technician in California.

One of the ways that Kevin gave back to others was by serving as a bone marrow donor in 2001 for a high school student with a rare form of leukemia.  Also, he was always willing to serve his church family in a variety of ways that showed God’s love.  His most recent was being a teacher for the second and third graders and having the blessing to pray for others after church services.

Kevin’s favorite hobbies included spending time with friends and family, playing board games with Ayanna and Madisyn, watching movies as a family or just having the time to sit and chat one on one with anyone he met.

Kevin’s greatest passion, if you knew him at all, was to share the truth of Jesus Christ with anyone he encountered.  His favorite verse was 2 Timothy 1:7 and he lived that out daily in all that he did.

Kevin is preceded in death by his parents, Ronald and Cher’ie, brother Chris (in childhood), aunt and uncle Chuck and Rita (Franzen) Mandel, and cousin Chris Mandel.

Kevin is survived by his loving wife, Ayanna, daughter Madisyn, siblings Curt (wife Kathy) Franzen, Peter (wife Colleen) Hermann-Franzen, Steven, William and Veronica Franzen; in-laws Leroy and Lillian Chambliss, brother-in-law Aaron Chambliss (wife Kathy) and many cousins, nephews and nieces.

Kevin’s Homegoing Celebration will be held Saturday, April 30, at 2 p.m. MDT (1 p.m. PDT/4 p.m. EDT). The celebration will be held at Calvary Chapel St. George, 3922 Pioneer Road, St. George.

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