Kristen Hazen Sander was born on December 2, 1974 at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, MO, and she passed from this life on Sunday, December 14, 2025 at her home in Independence, MO. Kristen was preceded in death by her fathers, Daniel Hazen in 1985 and Leo Sander in 2024, and her grandparents. She is survived by her mother Jane Sander Vargas, her siblings, Jill Foote-Hutton, Jacque Willis, Brandon Sander, Leo Sander, Amanda McDonald, Austin Sander, and Vanessa Parker and their families, including her nephews and nieces. She is also survived by a multitude of aunts and uncles and cousins and an absolute throng of good friends.

Our fiery, feisty little light has gone out. 50 years with our spunky “bomb-toy” was all we got. It would be so easy to reduce her life to one of pain and suffering and to point fingers at those who set her up to fail, but she was so much more. She was so silly and mischievous, and that mischievousness became a shield of sarcasm when she needed it. Her beginning made her sensitive to the suffering of the world and that meant she could only endure humanity for a measured period of time, but she never ceased to champion the downtrodden. As a child she was first the protector of her brothers. She literally saved their lives, putting herself between them and abandonment or harm whenever she could. And she was never able to put that torch down completely. She loved hard; so hard and infinitely once she decided you were hers, just ask David. David was her guardian bear and she was granted custody of him by a judge when she was nine.

She never accepted or made peace with the injustices of the world. She was the best friend anyone could ever ask for. She loved to drive and look at beautiful, old houses. On these drives she would dream of how she would occupy the attic floor as the creepy old aunt who was actually a guardian for all she surveyed. She loved sports but not just in a “Johnny-come-lately” kind of way. She respected good coaching, good fundamentals, and sportsmanship. She thought she didn’t know how to stand up for herself, but we were never in doubt of her wishes. She was a thorough pain in the ass many times, but she never meant to be. And now she is gone.

And now there is nothing left for us to do for her. And now she doesn’t need our protection any longer. And now we know what a giant, cold hole in our hearts feels like because Kristen Hazen Sander has gone on to play with Grandma.  And we miss her. But we were blessed to know her, blessed by the struggle with her, blessed by the lessons she taught us about life and about ourselves. Her sense of humor and love is shining through for all of us this week and we hope she continues to show up in our dreams and in our memories, and somehow, she is managing to cause many social media feeds to throwback pictures from times when she was laughing and joyful. Thank you Kristen, but we won’t say good-bye.

There will be a Celebration of Life Lunch in Kristen's memory on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at V's Restaurant, 10819 E US Hwy 40, Independence, MO 64055. The meal is provided. All are welcome to come share a good meal and good memories in Kristen's honor.