Kevin Max Tischner

1950 ~ 2017

The world became a much sweeter place on December 23, 1950 when Kevin Max Tischner entered it. After a courageous fight with cancer, Heaven got its angel back on August 13, 2017. Kevin was born to Deryl and Bernice Tischner in Murray, Utah and was the cutest blonde-haired boy you'd ever seen. At age 14, he began working at his one and only employer, Huetter Mill & Cabinet, and created incredible pieces of woodwork over the next 52 years. He graduated from Murray High School in 1969 and later defended his country in Vietnam. He was a true patriot who loved his country with his entire being. He saved numerous lives walking into the enemy's line of fire time and time again to carry his wounded brothers to safety, earning a bronze star for his bravery. He married Kathy Richards in 1974 and with open arms accepted the role of Dad to her 4-year-old son, Troy. He and Kathy had two more children, Layla and Emily. Kevin was the dad everyone wanted, the epitome of patience, humor, kindness, compassion, and understanding. As children, his daughters spent countless hours in his garage with him building "treasures" from his wood scraps, and never once did he complain when they constantly asked him to glue or nail the scraps together. Kevin was a woodworking genius who could build anything. Every year when his daughters decorated and donated a tree to the Festival of Trees, he was their go-to guy for any wood-based projects they wanted to accompany their tree. No matter the difficulty of the ideas they would dream up, he so effortlessly brought them to life (after drafting a blueprint, of course). Kevin's daughters made him blush referring to him as their Superman, a fitting title because he could truly do anything - fix, make, or build anything - repair, cook, or mend anything. Layla and Emily treasured their lunch dates with their dad. He loved chile verde burritos at La Puente and Metro sandwiches at Mediterranean Market, so much so that the staff at both establishments knew him by name. Kevin was a friend to everyone. There wasn't a person on Earth who knew him that didn't love him. After he and Kathy parted ways, they remained friends. Kevin loved the outdoors and nature. After meeting Rita Baden in a hiking club, they married in 2002. He and Rita enjoyed exploring the mountain that was their backyard and sharing their property with the various wildlife that would stop by for daily visits. Kevin loved walking his dogs, the Native American culture, and camping trips to Southern Utah. He absolutely adored his (mildly spoiled) dogs, Natasha, Chewy, and Maggie. Any dog of Kevin's was a lucky dog indeed. His daughters teased him about the gourmet meals he would prepare for them, but Kevin always claimed the enhancements were a nutritional necessity because his dogs wouldn't eat their dry dog food if it wasn't topped with broth, rice, chicken, or tuna fish. Kevin loved to read and quickly became hooked on Amazon Prime after his daughters explained (to his amazement) that the books he ordered would appear on his doorstep in just two short days! Kevin was one of the funniest people you would ever meet and was always cracking his daughters up with his hilarious off-the-wall stories that would randomly pop up in their email inboxes. He was the kindest, most gentle soul and was wholeheartedly loved and adored by everyone who was so blessed to know him. Kevin's children and grandchildren were his pride and joy and he was theirs. Without question, he earned the title of World's Best Dad and World's Most Awesome Grandpa. Kevin's family is devastated, but is comforted at the thought of him reuniting with his parents, son Troy, brother Richard, sister Denice, dogs Natasha and Maggie, and long-time bestie Mike Bringard. He is survived by his wife Rita; daughters Layla (Shane) and Emily (Brian); grandchildren Daytona, Addie, Jace, Brody, and Tanner; great-grandson Wesley; brother Dwight; sisters Linda and Vickie; and countless family, friends and loved ones. Kevin's family will forever be grateful for the doctors, nurses, aides, chaplains, and staff at Huntsman Cancer Institute who worked so tirelessly and compassionately to help and comfort him. We can't possibly express our gratitude for you and your efforts. You are an extraordinarily special group of people, angels here on Earth. Thank you. Popsi, we love you more than words could ever possibly express. You have always been and will forever be our angel. Until we meet again, you just keep making everyone laugh and smile up there.
A celebration of Kevin's life will be held at Memorial Murray Mortuary, 5850 South 900 East, on Saturday, August 26, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. In true Kevin-fashion, we encourage you to wear informal attire, as Popsi hated wearing a suit and would like all of you to be comfy and relaxed. After a brief service we will offer the podium to anyone that would like to share a story about Kevin as his family would cherish hearing how he touched your lives or made you laugh. In lieu of flowers, Kevin's family would appreciate donations in his name to the Huntsman Cancer Institute at https://donate.huntsmancancer.org or Best Friends Animal Society at www.bestfriends.org .