Donald Peter Kettenhofen's Obituary
Donald Peter Kettenhofen was born on May 11, 1936 and passed away on January 2, 2022, at the age of 85. Beloved wife of Margaret (née Kestermeier). Loving father of James (Karan) Kettenhofen, Robert (Leslie) Kettenhofen, Patrick Kettenhofen, and Anne (Thomas) Frederick. Proud grandfather of Matthew Kettenhofen and Mark (Katie) Kettenhofen; and great-grandfather of Alexandra Kettenhofen. Don is further survived by many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Jacob and Loretta (née Golden) Kettenhofen, and his late siblings, James Kettenhofen, Ruth (John) Kegel, Elaine (Gene) Mayer and Audrey Kettenhofen.
Don resided in Oshkosh for over 30 years but was born and raised in Milwaukee. He graduated from St. Florian's Catholic School and Pius XI High School, where he met Margaret; they celebrated 65 years of marriage in December 2021 and were together for over 70 years. Don attended Iowa State University and was a proud member of Sigma Chi.
For over 25 years, Don was a Certified Cardiovascular Perfusionist. He played a key role in developing, teaching and training new perfusionists in the clinical engineering program at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Don will be remembered as a voracious reader with excellent retention, a Jeopardy fan and competitive player, life long fisherman, self taught cook, rose and tomato gardener and he loved playing cards, especially cribbage and sheepshead.
In keeping with his family's wishes, private funeral services were held in Oshkosh on January 6. Don will be buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.
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