Louis Karl Kern
1952 - 2016
Louis Karl Kern
1952 - 2016
Obituary
Guest Book
BORN
1952
DIED
2016
Louis Kern Obituary
Lou was born on March 13, 1952 in Englewood, New Jersey. He was the son of Gustav Kern and Josephine Catale Kern. Lou has two siblings: Barbara Kern DeGroot and Robert Gerard Kern. He was married to Sylvia Gallegos Kern on April 8th 1978 in Bellflower, California. He has three children: Debbie Villarreal Kern, Michael Robert Kern and Steven Louis Kern.
Lou's influence and warmth reached countless people. He was known to be an exceptionally loving husband and caring father. Even through life's difficult hardships, he would always gather strength from his family. His loyalty, compassion and generosity were clearly evident to anyone who had the privilege to meet him. We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Lou during his 64 years. He was an avid golfer, loved cooking Italian food and enjoyed culinary outings with friends and family.
Lou was the Senior Vice President of Long Products Americas for Outokumpu Specialty Stainless. He began working for the company that would eventually become Outokumpu over 40 years ago, right out of college. He held progressively more prominent roles in sales, marketing and operations, eventually leading his own division in 1997 in Richburg, South Carolina. He was a member of St. Matthew Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He was the recipient of the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. Lou was also a South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development in 2013.
Lou is survived by his loving wife, Sylvia; his son and spouse, Steven and Karen; and his grandson, Liam; brother, Robert; sister, Barbara and numerous family and close friends. Lou was preceded in death by his father Gustav; mother, Josephine; daughter Debbie and son Michael.
Visitation with the family will be held before the service from 12:15 until the service begins.. The service will be on Friday, April 29th, 2016 at 1:00PM at Saint Matthew Catholic Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy, Charlotte, NC 28277. Reception to follow at the Piper Glen Country Club, 4300 Piper Glen Drive, Charlotte, NC 28277.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Myocarditis Foundation: myocarditisfoundation.org. Online condolences to the family may be offered at www.mcwewenpinevillechapel.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sylvia Kern
July 2, 2016
Thinking of you with love and intense pain
Linda Brent
May 9, 2016
Dear Barbara, Robert and Sylvia,
So sorry to hear about Louis' death.
You all have gone through alot of hardship with his family-the losses of his family members.
It was such a shock to hear he died suddenly.
I know you ALL have fond memories of him.
May God support and comfort you through these hard times.
God Bless,
Linda Brent
Sylvia Kern
May 7, 2016
I'm missing you, so very much
Sylvia Kern
May 7, 2016
Missing you
How you can show support
Send flowers
Consider sending flowers.
Add photos
Share their life with photo memories.
Plant trees
Honor them by planting trees in their memory.
Follow this page
Get email updates whenever changes are made.
Donate in Memory
Make a donation in memory of your loved one.
Share this page
Invite other friends and family to visit the page.
Ted Heberling
May 6, 2016
What a great guy Lou was. I thoroughly enjoyed the short time I worked and played with him. My sincerest sympathy to Syl and the kids.
Ted Heberling
John Duffy
May 6, 2016
I was very sad to hear of Lou's passing. I enjoyed working with him very much during my time with Long Products in Sheffield. I found him a very supportive and trusted colleague, very good company and a very good person. My sincere condolences to his family. RIP Lou.
Brian Coddington
April 30, 2016
Alice and I will miss you, Lou. I wish we could've played a round of golf before you left us. I'll never like the taste of Stella Artois beer, but it will always remind me of you. Rest in peace.
Diane Semancik
April 30, 2016
My sincerest condolences on Lou's passing, such terrible news. Upon reading his beautiful written obituary, I remembered the good times and the laughs we had at Avesta. May you be comforted by your loving memories and may he rest in peace.
Dave Crichton
April 30, 2016
"Say not in grief he is no more - but live in thankfulness that he was"
Hebrew Proverb
Sylvia, Robert, Steven & Family, I think that this proverb describes how those of us who will follow Lou feel today. I was privileged to have known Lou for over 40 years and in that time, Lou and I grew to know and respect each other. I have met very few people who were as "Goal Oriented" as Lou was and this is very evident in the accomplishments he attained in his professional career, becoming known worldwide as an expert in his field of manufacturing, marketing and leadership. He was also dedicated to his family and friends. Lou was a very large part of my (my family's) life and will be sorely missed. Our sincere condolences to you all on his sudden passing but find solace in the fact that we will all be together again in "his" time.....Love to you all.
Sylvia Kern
April 29, 2016
You are the light of my life, for eternity, my Love, my Friend, my Better Half. See you in a blink of an eye.
Kevin Nolan
April 28, 2016
Dear Sylvia and Family, I am so sorry to hear of Lou's passing. As a friend of Dave Gonzales, I was fortunate enough to experience Lou's warmth, kindness and friendship.Even though my time with him was short, he made a wonderful and lasting impression. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Tony Magnatta
April 27, 2016
Dear Sylvia,
My deepest condolences on the untimely passing of Lou. I was devastated. My association with Lou was always a pleasant one. He was smart and funny and I admired his potential. I really missed working with him after the company moved to Chicago. At one time he said he would visit me when he came up to New Jersey but unfortunately it never happened. I will treasure his memory. I wish you peace and good health.
Gregory Hess
April 27, 2016
My deepest condolences go out to your family.I was privileged to work with lou kern for almost 4 years at outo kumpu as an operator. And I also looked up to him such a great guy who always gave great insight . Sorry for your family's loss, prayers go out to y'all .
Erik Bohnsack
April 27, 2016
We are so sorry to hear about the passing of Lou. Over the last couple of years Lou has given several students from Chalmers University of Technology the possibility to travel to South Carolina and work at Outokumpu. I think it's hard to grasp how much these possibilities have meant for each one of our students. When leaving for Sweden I think all of the students have returned with memories of a lifetime.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Lynn (Tarnofsky) Cope
April 27, 2016
Sylvia, I'm so sad to learn of Lou's passing. Working with him early in my career (at Avesta)... while always fast paced, Lou had an amazing way of not rattling easy yet offering great perspective, infused with humor thru it all. God has an amazing new angel and my thoughts and prayers are with you and the family.
The colleagues from Degerfors Long Products
April 27, 2016
Our deepest condolences to Mrs. Lou Kern with family.
Whether mentoring and inspiring the new comers, or tackling top management challenges, Lou was a leader in every sense of the word and a good man that we feel privileged to call our colleague and friend. He will be truly missed by us all.
Jayne Saporito
April 26, 2016
Sylvia,adept my love and support at this difficult time. Lou was a treasure. God bless and keep you all in His care.
Joseph & Stephanie Zaccaria
April 26, 2016
Dear Sylvia and family,
Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss. Louis was a dear friend and we so enjoyed seeing you both last year. Our prayers are with you all.
Kim LaVorgna Macaulay
April 26, 2016
Lou was the finest, sweetest man. Smart and witty, his spirit will live on in the many lives he touched. I will never forget how he touched mine.
Sylvia, words seem inadequate to express the sorrow that I feel and the love that I am sending to you, Steven and your entire family.
Polly Whitehouse
April 26, 2016
Dear Sylvia,
I am so sorry to hear about Lou. My heart is completely broken for you and Stephen. Lou was a very big influence on me at the beginning of my career at Avesta. He taught me and others so much about work and life in general. I will never forget what he did for me. My prayers and deepest condolences are with you.
Mike&Teri Sweatman
April 26, 2016
Dear Sylvia and Steven,
We were so sorry to hear of Lou's passing. We enjoyed your whole family when we lived on Agawam Drive in Wayne, NJ. Dan, who was Michael's best buddy on Agawam said "I remember Mr. Kern well, he was such a good man and he was always so patience with us". Dan remembers his trip to see you after you moved to IL, it was a big deal to a kid and you were all so good to him, he had a great time. I can still remember how excited Lou was when we told him we had a few extra tickets to the Super bowl and he took Michael to the Super Bowl in Tampa, FL. He was forever grateful and thanked us so many times. He brought us the most beautiful bottle of Sake with matching ceramic serving vessels from Japan. I admired his wit and his kindness very much. He was so devoted to you all and worked so hard because of his great love of his family. With sincere sympathy,
William-Richard Muenzer
April 26, 2016
I am so sorry to learn about Lou's passing. Since I met him some 10 years ago I have admired him and has been an inspiration for me. A lot of fun to be around , always quick with ideas He will certainly be missed. My deepest condolences.
Nancy (Mrs. Ralph M. ) Davison
April 25, 2016
Dear Sylvia, I'm so sorry to hear about Lou. He and Ralph enjoyed a long working friendship. When I think of Lou, I see him laughing. My prayers are with you.
Catherine Houska
April 25, 2016
To Lou's family and friends,
My heart goes out to all of you with my deepest condolences for your loss. I only knew Lou through my consulting work for Outokumpu but, over the years, his wit, wisdom, humor, guidance, incredible foresight, and all the other characteristics that we all admired made him an incredible leader and person to work with and for. He will be deeply missed. He was an incredible man and touched so many lives.
April 25, 2016
Sylvia and Rob, I'm broken hearted to hear about Louie's passing. So quick with a laugh and fun to be around. "The Block" would not have been the same without him. Hope you're hanging in there. Love, John and Joyce McCarthy, Tampa FL
April 25, 2016
Sylvia and Rob, heart broken to hear about Louie's passing. Always quick with a laugh and fun to be around. "The Block" would not have been the same without him. Hope you're hanging in there. Love, John McCarthy
Lou Manganaro
April 25, 2016
Sylvia,
So sorry to hear about Lou.
I will always have good thoughts about our times at Uddeholm.
Lou Manganaro
jojo Tinkham
April 24, 2016
My sincerest condolences on the loss of your wonderful husband Sylvia and great Dad Steven. I can't imagine the incredible pain the family is going through. I will be praying and have my candles lit.
Sincerely,
jojo Tinkham
Showing 1 - 28 of 28 results
10500 Park Road, Charlotte, NC 28210
Make a Donation
in Louis Kern's name
How to support Louis's loved ones
Honor a beloved veteran with a special tribute of ‘Taps’ at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreResources to help you cope with loss
How to Cope With Grief
Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you.
Read more
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read moreWays to honor Louis Kern's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
