June 11, 1972 – April 18, 2026

With heavy hearts, we say goodbye to our dear friend Albert Serna. He passed away unexpectedly from a recent illness on April 18, 2026.

If you knew Al, you loved him. Many of us have known him for 25+ years. He was our gentle giant, our Ambassador of Fun, our Big Al, a kind friend, a loving husband, and a remarkable father. So many people in the local community were touched by Albert’s kindness. He made everyone feel special and is leaving a vast hole among family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and acquaintances. To say this is devastating is an understatement.

Albert grew up in Porterville, central California, and attended UC Santa Barbara, studying kinesiology, and continued his work in rehabilitation with head trauma patients. He truly loved this field and helping people, but living out of a hotel in LA was not in the plan. He was invited to a friend’s family cabin in Tahoe for a weekend, where Albert fell in love with the mountains and everything Tahoe had to offer. He moved to North Lake Tahoe in 1997 and never looked back! Many of you know him from his work in hospitality for much of his life. He met Amanda working at Gar Woods in 2000, where they spent 10+ years. Albert and Amanda married in 2005. He loved all the places he worked and the people he worked with, including Gar Woods, Caliente, Pierce Street Annex, Naughty Dawg, Tahoe Mountain Club, as an estate manager and Mark Tanner Construction.

Albert leaves behind his wife, Amanda, and children, Damian and Devon, along with his father, Jose Serna, sister Patty Serna and husband Carlos, niece and nephew, Ismael and Isis, of Long Beach, CA. Brother Ed Serna and wife, Gloria and nieces Maritza and Maya, of Escondido, CA along with a large extended family of aunts and uncles, cousins and their kids. He also leaves behind Amanda’s family, Makena Herget, mother, of New Castle, NH, brother Brad Herget and wife Emily and nephews, Oliver and Miles of Washington, CT and brother Tanner Herget and nephew, Tavin of Dover, NH and Portland, ME.

We are looking forward to having a Celebration of Life in October or November and will send out notification on a specific date well ahead of time. Everyone knows that Albert would want to have friends and family gather to enjoy each other’s company, share memories, and laugh.

Thank you for all the phone calls, texts, emails, messages, meals, visits, and love and support our family has received over the last month. Our community, family, and friends are remarkable, and we are lucky to have all of you as part of our lives. If you would like to support the family further, please visit the GoFundMe page. This will help allow Damian (13) and Devon (12) to continue to thrive in this wonderful community and pursue their hopes and dreams.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-albert-support-for-amanda-damian-and-devon