Stephen H. Kohl

Stephen H. Kohl, age 88, passed away on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at Bay Pointe at the Atrium with his loving family by his side. Steve was born on June 5, 1928 in Racine, son of the late Lucille and Stephen Kohl.

He was a graduate of Horlick High School “Class of 1946” where he was president of the student council and a member of the boys’ tennis club. He served in the U.S. Army, working at the Pentagon from 1946-1948 as a Technical Sergeant, where he used his proficiency of the German language to translate documents. Steve proudly graduated from Marquette University in 1952 with a degree in English. He was an excellent writer and received the first place award in the 1951-52 Jesuit Intercollegiate English Essay Contest, in which nine colleges competed, for his essay “Conscience – Man’s Mirror.”

On Saturday, June 14, 1952 at St. Joseph’s Church he married Dorothy Leuker and together they raised four children. He was a longtime member of St. Andrew Lutheran Church and later Mt. Pleasant Lutheran Church. Steve started his career in advertising as a creative copywriter with his own business “Pen and Pad”. He later worked at Massey-Harris, Harnischfeger, Racine Hydraulics, and retired from J.I. Case Company in 1983. He was President of the Racine Ad Club from 1972-73. Steve and Dorothy traveled to Europe, Nova Scotia and 48 of the 50 states. A thoughtful, kind and intelligent man, Steve was a voracious reader with an unbelievable memory and acute attention to detail. He had a keen interest in and amazing recall of the events of World War II. He enjoyed keeping up with current events, the Brewers and the Packers, watching old movies and spending time with his dog “Clancey”. He loved classical music.

He will be dearly missed by his wife Dorothy; his children Sally (Michael Davis) Sorensen, Jenny (Mark) Pelton, Stephen (Dana) Kohl; son-in-law, Charley Constantine; grandchildren, Michael, Erin, Emily, Katy, Daniel, Parker and Mark. Steve was preceded in death by his daughter Barbara Constantine.

A private celebration of his life was held. Memorials to the Atrium Residents’ Council—Atrium Library, 3900 N. Main Street, Racine, WI 53402 or the charity of one’s choice have been suggested.

Our family would like to thank all of his caregivers, especially Patti, Katie and Scott at the Atrium, and the nurses and doctors in the Cardiac Unit at Ascension All Saints Hospital, especially Dr. Patel, Dr. Gerber and Dr. Tierney.