Mark James Kinnan lost his battle with cancer on Wednesday afternoon, June 8th, and took his final breath at home in the presence of his wife, Laura, and his dogs, Jayda & Sierra. He had recently celebrated his 36th birthday and had been valiantly fighting lymphoma since February of 2010.
Mark was born in Hamburg, Iowa, on May 23rd, 1975, to Louis “Dick” Kinnan and Lois (McKee) Kinnan who currently reside in Gibbon, Nebraska. He was the youngest of three children and the only boy. Sisters and brothers-in-law include Kari Kinnan of Lincoln, Kris & Matt Kuhn of Lincoln, and Kim & Jason Payne of Kearney as well as nieces and nephews.
He served in the Marine Corps for four years where he attained the rank of Sergeant and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, where he met Laura. On Sunday, June 12th, they would have celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary.
Mark graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has worked for the company Fiserv as a banking software engineer for the past 7 years. He was an avid hunter, big Chicago Cubs fan, and loved the outdoors with all the activities that come with that… running, hiking, swimming, water and snow skiing, knee-boarding, biking, camping, playing softball, basketball, and sledding.
He was a kind and generous man who loved his family & friends and enjoyed living life. Always ready to crack a joke and laugh, his smile was brilliant. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 23rd, at Christ’s Place Church located at 1111 Old Cheney Road, Lincoln, NE, 68512-1103.
Donations can be made in Mark’s honor to CaringBridge, which was influential in helping keep our friends and family updated during his illness; Riley County Humane Society, where we adopted Jayda; Second Chance Pups, where we adopted Sierra; and Mark’s Light the Night Team for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.