Jennifer Lynn Kern, 40, of Marshalltown, passed away Friday, November 11, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Memorial services will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 16, at the Pursel Davis Funeral Home and Cremation Care in Marshalltown. Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, at the Pursel Davis Funeral Home and Cremation Care in Marshalltown. Inurnment will be at a later date. Online condolences may be sent to www.vogelfuneralhomes.com.

The daughter of E.C. "Squeak" and Phyllis Arlene Trautman, Jennifer was born November 14, 1970, in Marshalltown. She graduated from Green Mountain High School, graduated Phi Theta Kappa from Marshalltown Community College, and completed her education at Buena Vista College. She was united in marriage to Jason J. Kern on May 8, 1999, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. A life-long resident of Marshall County, Jennifer worked seventeen years as a Certified Medical Assistant at the Iowa Veterans Home; later she worked in administration at the Marshalltown Medical and Surgical Center. Jennifer was a member of the National Rifle Association, the Raccoon Valley Muzzleloading Club, and the Iowa River Gun Club. Because she was a friend to all animals - especially cats - Jennifer was active in the local American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Along with being a founding member of the Marshall County Neighborhood Watch, Jennifer was actively involved in the Vietnam Veterans Association, the Patriot Guard, and the Alzheimer's Association of Central Iowa.

Jennifer will be missed by her husband, Jason, of Marshalltown; mother, Arlene Trautman of Marshalltown; brother and sister-in-law, David and Amie Trautman, and their son, Sam, of Edmond, Oklahoma; sister, Dianne Trautman of Britt; father- and mother-in-law, Lloyd and Carolyn Kern of State Center; two brothers- and sisters-in-law, Rodney and Kristen Kern of Ft. Dodge and Steven and Susan Kern of Sioux City; and honorary father, Paul "Skeeter" Wilber of Jefferson. She was preceded in death by her father, Squeak, in 2004.