Kevin William Kemerling, 66, of Haugen, Wisconsin, formerly Heyworth, IL, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, March 6, 2025, after being hospitalized with a severe illness.

Born on October 23, 1958 to Marvella (DeFoer) and William Kemerling, Kevin was born in the Quad Cities, and then moved to Heyworth, IL when he was in the 3rd grade. He attended Heyworth schools. While in school, Kevin played baseball and basketball. Kevin was not always a big fan of going to school, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to skip school to go fishing or hunting, or to have a beer (or two) with his buddies. After graduating from high school, Kevin held a variety of jobs. He worked in sales for Jaydon, and then later became a truck driver, driving a semi across the country. In 1997, Kevin and his best friend, Pat Kapraun, moved to what he referred to as “God’s Country," aka Cumberland, WI. After moving, Kevin worked at Ardisam Inc, and then Polaris, before he was unable to work anymore due to complications from brain surgery.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to Mayo Health Clinic in Eau Claire for all of their excellent care. Kevin's final wishes were for his body to be donated to science. Unfortunately, due to the severity of his recent illness, he is not a candidate for it. Donations may be made to the family to help with his final expenses.

Kevin was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Marvella Kemerling, his maternal and paternal grandparents, several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Kevin is survived by his children, who were his pride and joy; Josh (Jessica) Kemerling, and Kristi (Don) Selucky, his grandchildren, who were the light of his life; Carsen, Kaelyn, Kerrigan, and Caydence Kemerling, Kylie, Emma, and Mya Selucky, sisters; Laurie (Greg) Peterson, and Michelle Kemerling, nephews; Brian (Brynn) Girdler, Ian (Jessica) Peterson, Aden Delacruzham, and niece; Terri Kopp, a dear Uncle Ray, favorite Aunt Karen, (aka Aunt KK and her husband Jerry), and several cousins. Also surviving is significant-other, Kim Poppe, of 15 years, his beloved dog, Toby, and several amazing lifelong friends who will miss him dearly.

Kevin and his daughter Kristi were very close. They spoke on the phone almost daily, talking about anything and everything. They shared the love of several of the same TV shows. Kevin would call to remind her they were on that night. He just couldn't wait to discuss them the next day. They loved fishing together the most. When Kristi and her family were up on vacation, they made it a tradition to fish together on the first day. Kristi never failed to bring in the big one that Kevin let get away. If Kevin caught a decent crappie, Kristi would be sure to throw her line right in his hotspot. Kevin would laugh and just shake his head, while Kristi would talk smack. They would have competitions while fishing, front of the boat (Kevin and Don) vs. the back of the boat (Bill and Kristi). They could always count on it being a good time telling jokes and talking smack. The back of the boat always seemed to win!

Kevin was beyond proud of both of his children and all their accomplishments, especially their families they created. He was in awe of his son Josh, who made one heck of a career for himself in the hot tub industry. Kevin loved hearing how well Josh was thriving, and beamed with pride on his great leadership skills. Kevin was also very proud of Josh when he was a fireman, but was thrilled on his retirement day, because of how dangerous the job was. One of Kevin's favorite memories with Josh was when Josh and his family flew to Wisconsin and surprised him. Kevin thought it was incredibly awesome to have his family all together for an entire week-long vacation. Kevin really loved showing Josh and his family all around "God's Country" doing things like fishing, boating, looking for bears, etc. Kevin adored all 7 of his grandkids. He looked forward to their lunch/dinner trips to get pizza when he was in town, or getting the videos from the grandkids saying, "Grandpa, we stole your pizza" when he wasn't in town.

He also loved being on the lake with the kids fishing, and hearing about what the "special" word for the boat was going to be. It wasn’t always easy living so far away from his children and grandchildren, but he would always end every phone call with, "Love you and miss you." Kevin had a very special relationship with his dad. They were more like best friends rather than father-son. Chances were if you saw one of them, you would see the other. They loved doing everything together, from vacationing, golfing, fishing, hunting, and then for the last 4 + years of Bill’s life, they even lived together. Kevin loved when he had the chance to play golf or fish with his dad and nephew Brian. The three of them really knew how to have a good time. He loved talking smack about how he was going to win, or catch the biggest fish, and Brian would give it right back to him. Kevin really enjoyed his special bond and memories he made with Brian. Some of his favorite memories with Brian were going fishing with him and his college buddies, and drinking beers until they ran out.

Kevin adored his mom, Marvella, who was very loving to Kevin and Laurie. Like everyone else, Marvella would have the best time with Kevin out on the lake fishing. They would talk on the phone quite a bit, always checking in with each other. Kevin could always count on his mom being there to cheer him on at all his ball games. Kevin admired his mom and her amazing athletic abilities in gymnastics. Kevin would talk to his granddaughters all about how good his mom was. He would say, "If Grandma Marv was here she would have you flipping all around the block." Kevin lost his mom 19 years ago, but never lost her love in his heart. Kevin cherished his very close bond with his sister, Laurie. He would always call her to ask who she was rooting for if there was a game on TV, and often-times place a friendly bet on the game. Like the rest of the family, Kevin and Laurie also loved to fish together. They shared a lot of special memories out on the lake. A couple favorite memories were hearing a strange noise on the lake, and then watching a bear swim right by their boat while they were fishing. Kevin wanted to get closer to the bear, but Laurie declined.

Another favorite and funny memory was when Laurie fall in Staples Lake (the greenest lake you will ever see) when setting the hook. Kevin couldn't stop laughing, and then couldn't believe it when he turned around to help Laurie out of the lake to see she did in fact still catch the bass. Kevin and Laurie talked on the phone almost daily, and most days you could count on them making each other laugh. If one of them were feeling down emotionally, or feeling ill, the other was sure to try and cheer them up. The brother/sister bond with Kevin and Laurie was inspiring to all.

Later in life, Kevin gained a sister, Michelle. Kevin always joked with Michelle, and gave her the nickname, "Hotdog". Michelle hated it, but Kevin loved it, and it made him laugh all the time. Kevin would take Michelle and Kristi out crappie fishing together when they were younger, making the cutest memories. After Michelle grew up and had Aden, Kevin and their dad, Bill would take them fishing. Kevin and Bill loved watching the joy in Aden's eyes when he would catch a fish. Kevin and Kim enjoyed going to the local bars and spending time with their friends, who were more like family than just friends. They would go to cheer on his favorite teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears. Kim and Kevin enjoyed taking drives through the country looking for bears, and checking out the lakes. A favorite memory was the summer Kevin and Kim saw approximately 75 bears! He was always so excited to call and let his family know they saw another bear! Kevin also taught Kim the "Kemerling" way to catch fish. He always said, if it's not this way, then it's wrong!

Kevin was thrilled to watch Kim become a grandma, and enjoyed spending time together as a family. If you knew Kevin well enough, you knew his favorite food was pizza. When he would visit Illinois, or if someone was coming to Wisconsin from Illinois, he knew he would be eating a pizza or two. His favorite pizza places were Tobins, Monical’s, and Grady’s in Bloomington, and Pizza Joynt and Frank’s in the Quad Cities. It was nothing for him to take a drive over to the Quad Cities to meet his favorite Aunt KK to enjoy a pizza together. Kevin loved that Aunt KK was only a phone call away for a pizza if she was heading up to Wisconsin. Aunt KK was way more to Kevin than just a pizza buddy. She had a very special place in his heart. He talked a lot about his Aunt KK and just how special she was. Kevin was also blessed with having the best uncle, Uncle Ray. Uncle Ray jumped right into a father- like figure after Kevin lost his dad. They had a very special bond and talked on the phone regularly. Kevin always talked about wanting to go to Florida to visit Uncle Ray, and was hoping his health would improve to make the visit happen. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in this lifetime, but we are assured they will reunite in Heaven when the time comes.

Although Kevin's life was cut too short, our memories of him will last forever. Until we meet again in Heaven, Love you and Miss you!!!

Last Update: Mar 10, 2025 1:38 pm CDT