Kenneth Schmalz

    Kenneth Schmalz of Port Washington was an easy-going man whose interests ranged from softball to faith.
    “He played softball in Grafton until he was 40-some years old,” his wife Janis said. “He played and he coached.”
    Mr. Schmalz participated in the recreation leagues in Grafton and Port Washington as a way to indulge his love of the game and to socialize with friends.
    He also enjoyed going to breakfast with friends on Thursdays, going deer hunting up north and heading to off-road races in Crandon with family and friends.
    When he was younger, Mr. Schmalz also enjoyed golfing and snowmobiling, his wife said.
    The couple took vacations to Florida each year and traveled by motorcycle throughout the U.S.
    “He was very happy-go-lucky,” his wife said. “He was a hard worker and a good man.”
    Mr. Schmalz died Saturday, July 28, at his home in Port Washington. He was 75.
    He was born in Port Washington on June 20, 1943, to Herbert and Lucille Viesselmann Schmalz.
    The oldest of the couple’s five sons, he grew up in the Town of Grafton and graduated from Grafton High School in 1961.
    When he was young, Mr. Schmalz and his brothers enjoyed tinkering with cars and machinery, and he learned skills that he would use throughout his life.
    “He was very handy,” his wife said. “He’d fix this and that.”
    He worked in construction and at area factories, then became a butcher at Dohr’s Meat Market in Grafton.
    Later, Mr. Schmalz would begin working at Economy Window Cleaners in Cedarburg, retiring about five years ago.
    “I always had clean windows,” his wife said.
    On Sept. 16, 1967, he married Janis Hoeft at St. Peter of Alcantara Catholic Church in Port Washington.
    Mr. Schmalz was a faith-filled man who was active at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington, where he served on the church board, was  an usher and tended to the building every week.
    “He would take the garbage out, do the snowthrowing — anything they needed done,” his wife said. “He prayed the Bible a lot.”
    He was also an accomplished cook and baker, she said.
    Mr. Schmalz is survived by his wife Janis of Port Washington; children Wendi (Mike) Brue of Hubertus and Corey (Amy) of Port Washington; and grandchildren Logan, Brodi, Tyler and Kendyl.
    He is further survived by his brothers Don (Martie) of Fond du Lac, and Chuck, Bob and David, all of Grafton, and brother-in-law John St. Peter of Belgium.
    He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters-in-law Donna Schmalz and Sandra St. Peter and in-laws Norman and Edna Hoeft.
    A memorial funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, at Christ the King Lutheran Church. The Rev. Kelly Nieman Anderson will officiate.
    Visitation will be at the church from noon Sunday until the service.
    In lieu of flowers, memorials to the church are suggested.
    Funeral arrangements are being handled through Poole Funeral Home and Crematory, Port Washington.