After a life of love and quiet grace, Kenneth Duane Kreinbring of Brookfield, WI has passed.
What you read below is one part of a life lived with quiet purpose.
Kenneth spent his working life as ['AO Smith and retired from Briggs &', 'Briggs &'] — and was, by all accounts, loved by those who knew him best.
The work of a parent is rarely finished — it lives on in the children he loved.
Kenneth Duane Kreinbring
With deep love and heavy hearts, the family of Kenneth Duane Kreinbring wants to share that he peacefully passed away the morning of April 30th, 2026. Kenneth was born on July 24th, 1937, in Milwaukee, WI. He was born to Theodore Kreinbring and Kathleen (Gearing) Kreinbring, who was known now as Kathleen Moulster. Kenneth was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Karen (Kreinbring) Hayek. His living siblings are Gary Moulster, Susan (Moulster) Schreck, and Mae (Moulster) Picciolo.
During Ken's childhood he spent some time on his grandparents' beef farm (Black River Falls region). Since there was no electricity, he was often entrusted with fetching meat from the cold storage vault in town. He would bicycle that week's provisions by bicycle back to the farm.
Ken was raised primarily in Milwaukee and attended James Madison high school. After graduation, he joined the Navy with his brother-in-law, Edward Hayek. While in the Navy Ken worked in communications and learned Morse code. Ken proudly wore a naval tattoo on his arm that he got while serving in the Navy.
After Ken's time in the service, he met Mary (Blum) Kreinbring, fell in love and got married. When he was 29 yrs old, they moved to Florida and had their first daughter, Katheryn (Kreinbring) Bruhn of New Berlin. After Florida, they moved to Louisiana and had their second daughter, Kristine (Kreinbring) Dorfner of Valrico, Florida. Ken embraced the south and enjoyed fishing in the Mississippi river catching frogs and crawdads and would have large boils in his "Old Smoky". He was particularly proud of cooking Jambalaya the "correct" Southern way. In Wisconsin, he would have large Jambalaya parties in his backyard. He had a passion for cooking and could be described as a "foodie". In Louisiana, he and Mary would go down to the "Juke Box" and dance to Fats Domino. He would wear these oversized overalls, put on a straw hat and ride along on his lawnmower. He drew upon his inner hillbilly.
Ken was a Mason and was part of the Daylight Masonic Lodge where he held a leadership role as a Past Master. Every year he loved taking his daughters to the Tripoli Shrine Circus. This is also why he chose to be buried in the Masonic section at Wisconsin Memorial. Ken also participated as a Shriner and was part of the Hillbilly Group. He chose to wear his Masonic ring and square-dancing necktie as part of his final outfit.
Also, during this time, Ken had a Honda Goldwing bike that he loved riding and rode it up to Black River Falls to see family. In Ken's later years, he joined the Swinging Singles, a local square dance club. He was a very active member and volunteered to drive the float every year in parades, store the float at his house and generously provided snacks at the dances for years.
Ken was a highly skilled machinist, worked at AO Smith and retired from Briggs & Stratton. He was known as Krazy Ken because of his goofy nature and antics. He preferred to repair something broken rather than throw it away and could fix just about anything mechanical. Ken was proud of his last name Kreinbring and his German and Norwegian heritages.
Ken had a true green thumb and could grow almost anything. At one point he had over 50 plants in his home. He had an orange tree and lemon tree that he kept alive for decades. Ken was a huge animal lover, he owned dogs down South, and then he fell in love with cats, who were his babies - which was his true spirit animal. When he was younger, he built beautiful fish tanks and loved feeding hummingbirds. Ken loved all kinds of puzzles. He listened to Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. He loved watching old Westerns, science fiction movies and listening to religious channels on TV. Ken was a man of faith and believed in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
Ken was very generous and donated financially to many organizations helping animals, veterans, needy children to name a few. For years he was a volunteer at the Summerfest grounds and manned the phone lines for several auctions for public radio. We have all been blessed by Ken's sense of humor, generosity and love. We will miss his laugh, his words of wisdom and him answering the phone, "yellow". We will even miss his sarcasm. We will all miss him more than words can express.
Ken is survived by his beloved children, Katheryn Bruhn (Kreinbring) and Kristine Dorfner (Kreinbring). Ken's grandchildren are Jennifer Wenthur (Bruhn), Zachary Tomaich and Kenneth Dorfner. His great-grandchildren are Madeline Morand, Emilia Tomaich, Emory Tomaich, Rexton Wenthur and Bennett Wenthur.
Visitation will be held on Friday, May 8th, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM with Masonic and religious services to follow at CHURCH AND CHAPEL FUNERAL HOME, 380 Bluemound Rd., Waukesha, Wisconsin, 53188.
A livestream will be available beginning at 9:00 AM via the following link: https://together.oneroomstreaming.com/YD5DG8
As well, you are welcome to return after the service and see a recording of the live stream for 90 days following the service.
Burial services will begin at 11:30 AM at Wisconsin Memorial Park: 13235 W Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI, 53005 on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Please meet at the cemetery in the red parking area.
Church & Chapel Funeral Service Serving the Family
Milw. 262-827-0659 Wauk. 262-549-0659
Online Obit, Condolences, Directions
www.churchandchapel.com
