McKenzie Lea Stanley Ward was a loving wife, a devoted mother, and an adored daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She was smart, sassy, tenacious, incredibly resilient, beautiful, and she loved with her whole heart. After a long, courageous fight with cancer, McKenzie moved on from this earthly life. She was 39 years old and passed peacefully at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, on June 13th, 2026, surrounded by loved ones. McKenzie fought for 6 years with everything she had, showing the true strength, resilience, grace, and kindness of a warrior.

McKenzie was born on April 30th, 1987 at Utah Valley Hospital to Jon and LeeAnne Stanley. She was the fifth of six children, but her young age didn’t stop her from playing mom to her older siblings. She graduated from Timpanogos High School, earned her undergraduate at Utah Valley University in Communications, and gained a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

On April 26th, 2007, McKenzie was sealed for time and all eternity to the love of her life, Jesse Ward. They shared a beautiful life together with their two wonderful daughters, Skye and Navy, and Luna, the dog she never wanted but grew to love—proof of life photos were often required from dog sitters. She loved traveling with her family and supporting her daughters in their sports endeavors. Her life’s dream was to become a mother, and she excelled at it.

Despite her trials, McKenzie always carried herself with poise, determination, and a never-ending outpouring of love for those around her. She focused her life on the things she loved. Plants brought McKenzie a lot of joy, and she filled her home to the brim with them. If you visited on watering day, you’d find her entire kitchen island covered with plants of all types and sizes and each one in perfect condition.

She loved gummy candies, chocolate chip cookies, and Pepsi. Jesse and McKenzie tried several approaches to her treatment which included not drinking Pepsi. She thought she was stealthy enough to sneak little sips here and there. Jesse always knew, but he also knew the joy it would bring her, so he’d let her think she’d gotten away with it.

McKenzie was funny, kind, hardworking, extremely organized (some may even describe her as “particular”), and the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. She spent her last days making everyone around her laugh and feel loved.

McKenzie is survived by her husband, Jesse Ward; daughters, Skye and Navy; her father, Jon Stanley; siblings, Ashlee Barker (Brig), Sean Stanley (Amberlea), Lindsay Rodman (Brandon), Nicole Driver (Bryce), Daryn Stanley (Haley); and her 16 nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her mother, LeeAnne Sorensen Stanley. What a beautiful reunion they must have had.

There will be a viewing held on Friday, June 19th, 2026 from 6:00-8:00pm at 909 N. Highpass Dr., Saratoga Springs, Utah. An additional viewing will be held on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 from 9:30-10:30am at the same location.

A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 at 11:00am at 909 N. Highpass Dr., Saratoga Springs, Utah.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Jesse’s Venmo (@Jesse-Ward-3) or to the family GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-mckenzies-family