Makena “Kenzie” Comisar had a keen interest in history.

        That shouldn't be too surprising considering the 17-year-old Hyde Park girl was a relative of Czar Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia.

        Kenzie's mother is Her Serene Highness Paula Maria Pavlovna, Princess Romanovskaya-Ilyinskaya. Her father is Marc Comisar, a member of the family that owns the crown jewel of the Queen City's restaurants, the Maisonette.

        A senior at St. Ursula Academy in East Walnut Hills, Kenzie was on her way to visit a classmate Thursday when the car she was driving ran off of Loveland-Miamiville Road in Clermont County. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

        “She had acquired a very keen interest in history,” said Frances Romweber, principal of St. Ursula. “I think she was looking to pursue that as a major in college.”

        When Kenzie was 13 she traveled to Russia with her mother and older brother, Alexander, to attend the belated funeral of their ancestor.

        Nicholas abdicated in 1917 and was executed the following year during the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. His remains were exhumed in 1991 and given a state burial in 1998.

        Kenzie was among more than 50 family members from around the world who attended. She was also a descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark.

        Her uncle, Nat Comisar, managing partner of the Maisonette, said Kenzie was “a blessing to our family and will continue to be a blessing.”

        He added that she was “opinionated and sassy and lovable and endearing. She was not reluctant to be who she was. Ever. When you walked into a room she'd be the one to light up and get up and give you a hug and kiss.”

        Kenzie was just as loved among her peers at St. Ursula, said the school's principal. “She was so well known by many and so well liked. That is a tribute to any girl about to enter her senior year.”

        She worked hard at both academics and tennis. And she was appreciated by classmates and faculty alike for her kind sense of humor. “Whenever we think about Kenzie a smile comes across our faces,” the principal said.

        Her classmates gathered Friday night at St. Ursula for a prayer service to remember Kenzie.

        Also attending were Mike Schmidt and Judy Spraul-Schmidt. Their 16-year-old daughter Julia, a classmate of Kenzie's, died in a car wreck in January.

        Mrs. Romweber said that St. Ursula's students “thrived on Kenzie's warm friendship and her good humor. I think right now they need to revel in the fact that two members of the class of 2003 are having a reunion that they need to strive for in their earthly life here.”

        In addition to her parents and brother, survivors include her grandparents, Lee and Joan Comisar of Indian Hill.

        The funeral is 11 a.m. Monday at Unity Center of Cincinnati, 1401 E. McMillan St. in East Walnut Hills.

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