Kenneth J Kleisner's Obituary
Ken Kleisner died peacefully, with a smile on his face, on the morning of December 12th, 2018 at age 91. He is survived by his beloved wife Mary Jean, 5 children, Kate, John, Susan, Barbara, and Beth. His 7 grandchildren, Matthew, Kurt, Maggie, Sarah, Mark, Joshua, and Joe.
He had been ill and in Manor Care for 2 years where they gave him wonderful care, especially Suzanna, who was with him the whole time and had a special place in his heart.
Here is just a glimpse of who he was:
He grew up in Berwyn, IL and was the only son of Joseph and Alice.
He went to Hiawatha Grade School and Morton High School.
He attended Purdue University and received his degree in Mechanical Engineering. While attending Purdue he met the Love of his Life, Mary Jean, who he would marry and have 63 years of wedded bliss (most of the time)😍 He was in the Fraternity of Sigma Nu. It was a very important part of him. The flower of the Fraternity is a white rose. It was the flower Mary Jean had in her bridal bouquet and was a symbol of their love throughout their marriage. Ken's departing gift to Mary Jean was a dozen white roses.
He was a big, hearty man with a big presence when he entered a room. He used to wear a big belt buckle that said Ken that we bought him as a gift one year. He did not need any kind of identifying--everyone always knew when he was in the room. He was a master at telling stories and loved a good, long joke. His laugh was big, loud and infectious. He gave THE BEST bear hugs!!!! We have been missing the laugh and hugs for some time now.
He was, as all of us are, complicated--it’s part of the human experience. He was one of the most generous people we've ever known. He was there for all of his children with financial help, which was true more than once. He was quick to anger, (which was hard sometimes,) but also quick to apologize, to own up to his part. He had a big voice, which when we were young, was a boon to the neighborhood kids when it was time to go home for dinner; all he had to do was call his kids in, and the whole neighborhood went home!
When Mom went back to work he made breakfast and packed the lunches everyday for the kids. Every morning he would put a cup of coffee at the top step for Mom to have while she was getting ready. Beth always kissed him on his clean shaven face every morning before he left for work.
He loved dogs, especially Brandy. She would greet him everyday when he came home and he would sit on the front step for their daily moment together.
A spiritual life was important to him and he was involved outwardly with his church, and inwardly with God. He often questioned the teachings and rules of the Roman Catholic Church, not accepting them at face value, but determining their value inwardly, and discarding what he did not believe. This approach to spirituality effected all of his children in choosing their own path and we thank him for that. From 1969-1990 both Ken and Mary Jean were very active in Cursillo in the Chicago area - De Colores!
He loved to spend time and especially to fish up at our family lake house in northern WI. When we were getting ready to go he was the Master Packer. He could fit everything in the trunk. This is one of the many wonderful traits he passed to his kids! While up north it was his joy to be out in a boat fishing, or just relaxing with a drink on the deck. Somewhere along the way, he got tired of cleaning the fish, so he became a catch and release fisherman. He would say that he had the eagle on our lake trained, because he often would throw a fish back and the eagle would swoop it up. I ask, who had whom trained?
He spent his work life as a mechanical engineer, the majority of the time for Outboard Marine Corp. His work life had its ups and downs, but miraculously, he never lost his job through all the years of manufacturing downsizing. He had a sharp mind, and what he really loved to do was tinker. He could fix (or improve, as he would say,) anything. His workshops, both at home and up north, were filled with tools, gadgets and hardware, all of which he knew how to use well. I remember the smells of him working in his workshop, mostly of wood and oil (and cigars). He would make this shhhhh/whistling noise when he was working on something… that was his sound of contentment (and when we heard it, we knew it might be a good time to ask him for something!)
He loved food, drink and football (Go Purdue!). He was a pretty good cook; for years, most Saturdays in the winter he would make for lunch what we called Refrigerator Soup- a conglomeration of leftovers from the week. Most the of time, the results were pretty good, but there were a few times that it was questionable…the time with the mashed potatoes, lima beans and salmon loaf comes to mind. His love of grilling was as big as his laugh was loud. Our family was gifted a Weber grill in the early 70’s, before anyone else we knew had one. This huge box shows up a few weeks before Christmas, and to be honest, us kids were all very disappointed about a grill being inside it. What we were about to discover was the wonder of indirect cooking on a grill. After Dad put the thing together and meticulously read through the instruction/recipe booklet, he announced, “We can cook a turkey on this thing!” And so we did that Christmas, and for every Thanksgiving and Christmas (and whenever we felt like it) ever since.
The morning after his daughter Barbara got the news of his death, she had this fleeting image of Dad at the gates of heaven looking like he did 20 years ago with his Big Ken belt buckle on, holding a fishing rod, and laughing heartily with St. Peter as if they were old friends. It was a good image to take her through the difficult day.
Ken was a wonderful husband, father, and grandpa. He will be missed and cherished through so many fond memories.
He is home with his Savior and Lord and at peace.
What’s your fondest memory of Kenneth?
What’s a lesson you learned from Kenneth?
Share a story where Kenneth's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Kenneth you’ll never forget.
How did Kenneth make you smile?
