Irene May Kern

Surrounded by love and leaving a legacy of joy, Irene Tshudi Kern (Goraczkowski) passed on to her eternal rest on April 1, 2026 - just six days shy of her 82nd birthday - due to the effects and complications of a pulmonary embolism. Born on April 7, 1944 in Sebeka, MN, Irene lived a faithful, simple, yet full life. She won the hearts of everyone she met through her humble, gentle way of love.

She will be lovingly remembered by her husband of 27 years, George Kern, her sons Bryan (Marsha) Goraczkowski of Litchfield, MN and Brent (Jenny) Goraczkowski of Chaska, MN; six grandchildren: Aron (Kelsey) Goraczkowski of Park Rapids, MN; Abby (Caleb) Kenner of Gretna, NE, Brynna (Reese) Jansen of Sioux Falls, SD, Jacob Goraczkowski of Prior Lake, MN, Lucas Goraczkowski of Chaska, MN, Sarah Goraczkowski of Chaska, MN, and 9 great grandchildren: Emersyn, Quinn, Brayah, Abel, Indie, Grace, Monroe, Teddy and Sonny.

A visitation will be held at Karvonen Funeral Home on Tuesday, April 7 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm as well as an hour before the Mass of Christian Burial which will be held at St. Ann’s Catholic Church on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 11 am. The family is grateful for the skilled, compassionate care she received at Green Pine Acres of Menahga the past 3 years and at CHI St. Joseph’s Hospital her last 5 days.

Irene May Kern was born at home April 7, 1944 to William Tschudi and Julia Salo Tschudi (Kako), one of four siblings who grew up on a rural farm in Sebeka, MN.
She was baptized as a member of the Lutheran Church in Sebeka, MN and graduated from Sebeka High School in 1962. She was confirmed and received fully into the Catholic Church before her marriage to Roger Lee Goraczkowski on October 12th, 1963 at the Church of St. Ann’s in Wadena, MN.

Roger and Irene settled into their modest Sunset Addition home in Wadena where she devoted her life to raising their two boys and taking care of the bookwork for Roger’s Auto Clinic on the corner of Hwy 10 and 2nd St SW in Wadena. She found joy in building a strong family life through her steadiness and gentle presence. Preparing meals, serving dessert before bed every night, making her homemade fudge topping for ice cream, attending the boys’ athletic events, camping in the old pop-up camper, fishing for walleye as long as Rog or her boys would take care of the crawler and fish, bowling, golfing and traveling out West filled her cup. Her retail work at Montgomery Ward, JC Penney, Central Credit Union and later as a teller at First National Bank utilized her eye for detail and head for numbers which she passed on to her boys.

After Roger passed away in April of 1994, Irene’s world was rocked for a few years until a renewed joy in sharing life was discovered with her 2nd husband, George Kern, whom she married at St Hubert’s Church of Bluegrass, MN on May 30th in 1998. With George, she returned to life on the farm where she once again found purpose, peace and a shared mission in married life with the coffee pot always on, and her half-frosted chocolate cake or Moon cake ready to share with friends and family who dropped in. Visitors were always greeted with, “Can I get you something to eat?” as serving was her language of love. It was visits at the farm and later at the nursing home that invited us to step out of the hustle and bustle and enjoy a game of double solitaire, Yahtzee, Kings in the Corner, or 500 Rummy where she always seemed to have the wild cards for the win.

Alongside George, she grew in faith, love of Jesus through the celebration of the Mass and the daily rosary, and service to her new faith family at St Hubert’s through preparing goodies.

Sharing her Original Trident gum, sneaking sips of her Mudslides, and taking turns at video poker are just a few of her grandchildren’s sweetest memories of “GG”. The familiar scents of cucumber melon and Sun-Ripened Raspberry from Bath & Body Works, her collection of twenty shades of pink nail polish, the cheerful hourly songs of her bird clock, and George Strait playing softly on the kitchen radio brought warmth to her home. A glass dish filled with tiny stud earrings always sat on the bathroom counter, ready to be admired and shared. Later, it was visits to the nursing home where she continued teaching us how to love and live with kindness and love to all. These small details are forever etched in our hearts—and in the years to come, those same scents and sounds will gently bring her back to us.

Irene was preceded in death by her first husband, parents and siblings: Carl Tschudi, Shirley Faerber, and Roger Tschudi.

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