After Kenzie's Passing

We are devastated to announce the sudden and unexpected passing of our little angel, McKenzie Kay “Mac Daddy” Jensen. She passed away peacefully in the arms of her loving mother early in the morning of December 6, 2023.  

McKenzie is survived by her parents, Trevor and Kayla; her siblings, Kate, Ashley and James;  grandparents, Jeff and Christine Langford, and Kirk and Leann Jensen; great grandmother, Helen Huckvale; great grandfather, Don Jensen; and an entire loving family of cousins, aunts, and uncles. 

McKenzie was born in Boise, Idaho on December 21, 2020. In the words of her mother Kayla, her pregnancy was an “unexpected surprise, one that has been hard to wrap my head around. 3 kids in 3 years… But I have felt on multiple occasions that this baby is coming for a reason and that she is a sweet little blessing coming out of 2020.” And she truly was the greatest blessing to our family. 

McKenzie was well known for her sassy attitude and refusal to go by her given name. Instead, she insisted on going by Mac Daddy. She loved her sisters more than anything in the world and tried to emulate them every day. She adored her baby brother James and loved crawling in his crib with him to cuddle. She was her daddy’s best friend and quite literally a little miniature version of him, only much more beautiful. In reality though, she didn’t reserve her best friend status just for her dad. She warmed up to anyone, and quickly became best friends with them.  

She loved going to her mom and Grammy’s preschool, where she enjoyed playing, learning and occasionally fighting. McKenzie loved to help us cook and would get up on her stool which she always placed right in the way. And when she helped, she insisted on doing it herself. She was fiercely and frustratingly independent, which often resulted in extra messes around the house, backwards pants, and spilled juice bottles. She loved watching Disney movies and singing along to songs like “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. We have the fondest memories of Kenzie singing, at the top of her lungs, the words “Keep Singing”, followed a beautiful little tune. Her singing will be greatly missed. 

Her unexpected death was caused by a condition called volvulus, a twisted intestine which ultimately caused a septic infection and quickly took her life. McKenzie was an exceptionally special child of God whose purpose here in mortality was fulfilled in less than three years. There was no need for her to face the difficult trials and problems intrinsic with this mortal experience. As the ancient Book of Mormon prophet Moroni said: “wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin..” “But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world…” Despite the devastating sadness that her death has caused us, we are sustained by the hope that our family is eternal and we will be with her again.