My darling, beloved husband Logan Reed McKenna passed away unexpectedly last week, and our lives will never be the same. This is a beautiful tribute that my sister Rachel wrote to him in the form of a life sketch. We will miss him every day for the rest of our lives.
Logan Reed McKenna lived a life marked by curiosity, kindness, adventure, and deep devotion to the people he loved. Whether he was caring for patients in the operating room, belting out a show tune, planning his next hiking trip, or laughing so heartily that everyone around him couldn’t help but join in, Logan embraced life with his whole heart. He passed away unexpectedly on May 31, 2026, at the age of 44, after experiencing a medical incident shortly after summiting Mt. Denali in Alaska. Logan leaves behind a family who adored him and a community that will feel his absence for years to come.
Logan was born March 28, 1982, in Logan, Utah, to Reed and Paulette McKenna. When he was about two years old, the family moved to Massachusetts, where they lived for six years and where his younger sisters, Elise and Taren, were born. Even as a small boy, Logan was curious and fearless. He and his sisters spent hours playing in the woods behind their house, and he once jumped confidently into the local pond when the only stroke he knew was the doggy paddle. That combination–leaping in with gusto and figuring it out fast–would describe him for the rest of his life.
He was a devoted reader from the start, drawn especially to science fiction, and he loved to share and discuss what he learned. His cousins still remember climbing trees with him at their Grandma Jo’s house while he told them stories about Greek mythology, and his parents remember amusing dinnertime conversations about philosophy. The McKennas are a family of game players, and Logan would patiently teach his little sisters the rules of obscure board games so they could all play together. Elise and Taren remember him as a supportive and loyal older brother, a role he never stopped filling.
The McKennas loved to travel and adventure together, and during a trip through Europe, Paulette remembers Logan, Elise, and Taren imitating every statue they passed and insisting on a photo. They forged bonds of friendship and fun as they created memories on that trip and later adventures in Italy and China.
When Logan was in elementary school, he surprised his parents by standing up and singing a solo in the school music concert. Until that moment, they had no idea he could sing so well, but in the years to come, music became a defining interest for him. In high school, Logan was a lead in several musical theater productions, and he and his buddies started an a cappella group they named ‘Chordless FM’–a name they found clever and Logan later found hilarious. The group even recorded an amateur CD, boy-band cover photo and all, which remained one of his favorite artifacts from his teen years.
After high school, Logan served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Adelaide, Australia. At first, Logan was very homesick and discouraged because the people he met weren’t particularly interested in his message about Jesus Christ. Everything changed when he was asked to join a group of missionaries who traveled the area singing at church and community events. Through music, Logan found he could share his testimony of the Savior in a way that opened hearts, including his own. His faith became an anchor throughout the rest of his life.
Fittingly, it was music that led him to his soulmate. In the summer of 2004, Logan met a beautiful girl named Sarah Westover while they were both serving as Young Performing Missionaries in Nauvoo, Illinois. Their chemistry and friendship were immediate, and after a summer of performing together, their courtship moved quickly. They were married on December 29, 2004, and Sarah was the love of Logan’s life. They supported each other’s dreams and carried each other’s hardships in a beautiful and remarkable way, and they never stopped singing together–at church, in community theater productions, and around the piano at home with Logan’s sisters playing.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Utah State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Logan attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. He went on to complete a residency in General Surgery in Denver, Colorado.
During his medical training, he became a father to his son, Callum, and his daughter, Jade, and his mother remembers him cradling his newborn babies and saying over and over, “We are so lucky. We are just so lucky.” Even during the punishing years of surgical residency, Logan was a devoted father and husband. Sarah remembers that after a 36-hour shift, he would walk through the door, drop his bags, and get straight down on the floor to play with his children.
After residency, Logan returned to his hometown in Cache Valley and worked as a General Surgeon with Intermountain Healthcare and as the Trauma Director at Logan Regional Hospital. He was respected by his colleagues and beloved by his patients for his calm, knowledgeable presence and his incredibly kind bedside manner.
As his children got older, Logan continued to be an exceptional father and husband who cared about the things that his family cared about. When Callum got obsessed with playing and watching hockey, Logan jumped in full force. He had never been into professional sports, but he became enamored with hockey and loved taking Callum to Utah Mammoth games. Jade remembers the way he supported her at her dance competitions and plays, as well as the small moments when he would watch Bluey and eat ice cream with her at the end of a long day. When she came to the hospital for her weekly allergy shot, he would sneak her into the physicians’ lounge to pick out a special snack–usually a Rice Krispie treat and a Dr Pepper. Sarah is a Disney fanatic, and he humored her by dressing up in themed family costumes during their trips to Disneyland and recording funny Reels with her for her social media account. If his people loved something, Logan was all in.
Logan was known to say, “Commit to the bit,” and that is exactly how he lived. He never had a casual interest in anything; he went all in. He and Sarah took frequent trips to New York City to see Broadway shows, and he performed in many local community theater productions himself. He was known for his stunning tenor voice, and he never relied solely on his natural talent: he worked very hard in every production he was a part of. His family remembers him sitting at the piano practicing high notes over and over until he mastered them and tap dancing for hours on a piece of hardwood in preparation to play Don Lockwood in Singin’ in the Rain. Other favorite roles included Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can and the evil dentist in Little Shop of Horrors.
Logan loved good food, and during medical school when he and Sarah couldn’t afford to eat out, he started reading cookbooks and experimenting in the kitchen. He became a gifted chef, and he took great pleasure in spoiling the people he loved with elaborate multi-course Christmas Eve dinners and smoked-meat barbecues in the summer.
In addition to music, his most defining hobby was his love of hiking. Shortly after returning from his mission, Logan and his dad climbed Mt. Whitney in California, the highest point in the lower 48 states. This began their quest to climb to the highest point in all 50 states, and over the next 20 years those trips became a treasured tradition. In addition to achieving all 50 high points, Logan summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, climbed volcanoes in Ecuador, and summited many of Colorado’s 14ers during his surgical residency there. Time spent hiking in the mountains was sacred to Logan, especially because he was often joined by his dad, his sister Elise, and his son Callum.
Through all of his many adventures, Logan’s faith was his foundation. He deeply valued spirituality and loved learning about all faith traditions, reading the holy books of many religions. Most recently, he was reading the new translation of the Hebrew Bible. In his final testimony at church, Logan said, “Christ is the reason for everything that delights me.” Those who knew him saw that delight everywhere: in the way he cared for his patients, the way he sang with his whole heart, the way he crafted an amazing meal for holidays, the way he relished a challenging hike, the way he laughed without reservation, and the way he fully and completely loved his wife and children.
Logan is survived by his wife, Sarah; his children, Callum and Jade; his parents, Reed and Paulette; and his sisters, Elise McKenna (James Pierce) and Taren Going (Kameron Going). He also leaves behind countless friends, extended family, colleagues, and patients whose lives were impacted by his goodness. His sudden passing has left a profound void in the lives of all who knew and loved him, and he will be deeply missed.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 12:00 noon at the Hyde Park Stake Center, 535 E. 200 S., Hyde Park, Utah. Visitation will be held at the same location on Friday, June 19, from 5:00–7:00 p.m., and Saturday, June 20, from 10:00–11:30 a.m. Interment will follow the funeral services at Hyde Park Cemetery.
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