Conrad A. Mckenzie

Conrad A. McKenzie, 27, of Willingboro, passed away unexpectedly on February 27, 2018 in his sleep. He was born on December 5, 1990 in Elizabeth, NJ the son of Deborah (Wiezevich) Johnson and the late Conrad McKenzie. He grew up in Newark, West Orange and Maplewood. He spent most of his childhood playing with his sister, Monique, and his cousins, Andre, Adrian and Anthony in their Grandma Sylvias house. He graduated from Columbia Sr High School in Maplewood in 2008. He was a member of the Anime Club in high school. He spent many summers going to the Maplewood Community Pool with his close knit group of friends. He also loved spending the summer with his Aunt Delores and cousin Quateek Ellis. He was very fond of his time spent in Essex County. From a young age Conrad was an avid video gamer. His favorite video games include The Zelda Series, the Final Fantasy Series, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Brothers, League of Legends, Wild Arms, Super Smash Bros and many more. He also loved to build computers and work on electronic hardware. He was in the process of obtaining a degree in Computer Technology. If there was a broken electronic, Conrad could fix it with ease. Conrad was a lover of anime, he had a large collection of various books and comics. His nickname "Black Star" was derived from his favorite anime character in "Soul Eater". The character was a young, determined, hard headed kid with a delinquent personality but also very lovable. He was a huge "Naruto" fan - his favorite character was Neji. He was also a fan of Claymore and Dragon Ball Z. Conrad loved to go to Anime Conventions with his friends. Conrad was a beautiful soul who could light up any room he entered. He loved to laugh and make others laugh. He was known to friends and family as goofy and fun loving - he was always coming up with unique and creative ideas. He is survived by his parents, Deborah and Eric Johnson; his siblings Monique, Vaughn and Shane McKenzie and John Schroeder. He also leaves his son Ethan McKenzie and his fianc Nastassia De Leon. His legacy lives on with his son Ethan and his nephews Tanner and Hudson. He is also survived by his grandparents, Christine and Ronald Vanderbilt. He also leaves behind his loving aunts, uncles, and cousins: the Bruce, Billings, Murphy, Tomlinson, Williams, Ellis and Mandell families. He was preceded by his father, Conrad McKenzie, in 2015. Conrad made friends easily and kept them for life - his memory lives on with Caleb and Najahla Baldwin, Michael Speights, Stephanie "Tinkerbell" Abreu, Trent Russell, Richard Joseph, Gabriella and Nick Moscardino, Cassandra Kane, Max Borgella and too many more to name. We leave you with a quote by his favorite character, BlackStar: "Im just a dude who's way ahead of his time you know? Does that mean I was born too early because time can't keep up with me?" Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Union Funeral Home - Lytwyn & Lytwyn. The viewing will be at Prospect Presbyterian Church in Maplewood, NJ from 6 to 9 pm on Friday March 9th and from 8 to 9 am on Saturday March 10th. The funeral service will be held after from 9 to 10 am. He will be laid to rest at the Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, NJ following the service.