Kevin Kratzke, of St. Cloud, MN, formerly of Vergas, MN, passed away at the age of 50.
Funeral services will be held 1 p.m., Wednesday, September 11, 2013, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church - Loon Lake. Visitation will take place from 11 a.m. until the time of service at the church on Wednesday. Interment will be made at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery - Loon Lake. Lunch will be served at the church following the service.
Kevin was born May 15, 1963, in Detroit Lakes, MN, the youngest of 5 children born to Fred and Elsie (Eckre) Kratzke. Kevin grew up attending school in Pelican Rapids and graduated from Barnesville High School with the class of 1981. He then worked at Fair Hills Resort for a time before going on to attend Hennepin County Technical College where he studied Production Management. He then attended Dakota County Technical School to study Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. Following his schooling, he worked at Vinyl Therm in Bloomington, MN, and later, Lumilite Special Markets in Golden Valley, MN. In 1990, Kevin went back to school, attending Anoka Technical College where he studied Auto Mechanics. Using his degree, he worked at Tires Plus in
Elk River, MN.
Kevin loved working on cars, especially Ford vehicles. Fishing and bow hunting were Kevin's loves in life, only to be surpassed by the love for his son, Jason and his grandchildren.
He was a lifetime member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church - Loon Lake.
Kevin is survived by his son, Jason Bambenek of St. Cloud, MN; 3 grandchildren: Jaiden Bambenek, Jasper Bambenek and Cenady Bambenek-Clark; father, Fred Kratzke; 2 brothers: Marvin (Kim) Kratzke of Vergas, MN and Ronnie (Nancy) of Perham, MN; brother-in-law, Alan Cossette; God father, Melvin Schultz; many nieces and nephews; along with many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Elsie Kratzke; brother, Roger Kratzke and sister, Kay Cossette.