CDR Peter George Kronich, USNR-Retired, died Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the age of 93.
Born in Vienna, Austria, March 14, 1930, to Walter and Ilse Kronich, Peter immigrated to the United States on September 19, 1939, aboard the SS Nieuw Amsterdam with his mother and younger sister, soon followed by his father. After a short time in Brooklyn, NY, the family settled in Chicago, IL, where Peter was an active Boy Scout and Sea Scout, attaining the highest ranks of Eagle and Quartermaster. Peter attended Tilden Technical High School and spent two years at the Illinois Institute of Technology before enlisting in the US Naval Reserve, serving active duty in the Korean War. Upon his return from Korea, Peter married Jean and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at IIT. The couple moved to Peoria, IL, where they both worked for Caterpillar Inc., and Peter completed his Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at Bradley University. The couple eventually settled in Sheboygan, WI, where they raised two daughters, Carol and Christine, in a house across the street from the harbor.
Peter spent most of his career working as a mechanical engineer and engine development manager at Tecumseh Products Company in New Holstein, WI, with a few years spent at Kiekhaefer Mercury Marine. Peter was a talented engineer and holds 17 patents on air-cooled and overhead valve internal combustion engines. Upon retirement from Tecumseh, Peter founded his own business, Defiant Consulting and Survey, where he conducted marine surveys on sail and power vessels across the Great Lakes and the country.
Peter was an avid boater and sailor. His first sailboat in Chicago harbor was a seagull named Miss Blue. He went on to own several Chris Craft powerboats on the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, and eventually purchased a 32’ Pearson Vanguard sailboat, the Defiant, berthed at the Sheboygan Yacht Club. Peter was well-known along the shores of Lake Michigan for his skill at fixing marine engines, his colorful vocabulary and his striped tam o’shanter hat.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, Susan Nelson, wife, Jean Harman Kronich, and daughter, Carol Loraine Kronich. Peter is survived by his younger daughter Christine Gale Kronich of Saint Paul, MN, and faithful bears and monkeys, including Max and Manny.
The family would like to thank the caring staff of Embrace Care Management, who enabled Peter to live a comfortable life at home, and the nurses and CNA’s at Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice.
Donations in Peter’s memory can be made to the Carol L. Kronich Colon Cancer Research Fund at the University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Condolences may be sent to Christine G. Kronich, 1134 Idaho Ave W, Saint Paul, MN 55108.
The Olson Funeral Home & Cremation Service has been entrusted with Peter’s arrangements.
I’m a very rare sort of bear. There aren’t many left of us where I come from. ~ Paddington Bear
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