Gene Francis Kiela II, 69, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family, on
December 5, 2023. Gene was born on April 24, 1954, in Zurich, Switzerland to Gene F. Kiela Sr.
and Ruth Joyce (Joa) Kiela.
Gene attended Kohler Public Schools and graduated from Kohler High School in 1972. In his
younger years, he enjoyed being an equestrian at his grandparents’ stables, playing the trumpet in
musicals and in the jazz band, and competing in wrestling and golf, earning the title of Junior
Golf Champion at Pine Hills in 1971.
Gene continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a Bachelor
of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1979. After gaining some engineering
experience in Green Bay, he returned to Sheboygan Falls, WI, in 1980, and began to work for his
grandfather’s company, Curt G. Joa, Inc. He worked his way through the company, digesting all
facets of the business, and fulfilled many positions including a field service technician, design
engineer, sales engineer, and sales manager. His career allowed him to engage with people in all
departments, and he took sincere interest in getting to know them on a personal level. He was
elected as a board member in 1985 and eventually became President in 2010. After 39 years, he
retired in April of 2019, though he continued to actively serve as Chairman of the Board until his
passing. Gene expressed his deep appreciation for the opportunity to work with and benefit from
so many talented and dedicated colleagues. It was important to him to embrace the family
oriented culture and values the Joas established, and did so with the utmost passion. Gene
brought these values into his personal life.
He married Jody Lorger at St. John the Baptist Church in Plymouth, WI on February 11, 1989.
They decided to remain in Plymouth and raise their family, Marlo Aivery, Gene Francis III, and
Sophia Bernice. He was a loving father and husband, supportive of all family activities, couldn’t
miss him rooting or snapping photos at every event his children participated in. Gene took great
pride in traveling with his family and was all about creating new experiences. He was never
hesitant to teach or pass on his knowledge, no matter the topic. Gene's passion and enthusiasm
for those he loved was always present. Recently, Gene III and his wife, Emily, gave him the
blessing of his first grandchild with the honorary name of Gene Francis IV.
Gene had many interests and hobbies. He loved flying stunt kites, hunting for turkeys, pheasants
and deer, playing croquet, cards and chess matches, shooting pool, boating, golfing, skiing,
snowshoeing, and fishing in Lake Michigan and the waters of Canada. Gene frequently would
spend time fishing for his big pike, leading to his nickname the “Big Pike Hunter”. He had a
passion for planting trees, and the sap season became one of his favorites. You could always find
him in the kitchen creating dishes from smoked ribs to his famous turkey soup. His family
frequently enjoyed his flavorful sandwiches that would be accompanied by his homemade
Bloody Mary, arguably the best in town. He also loved photography, proven by his 27,000 phone
photos, shoe boxes full of SD cards, and an entire closet of Kodak films and negatives. His latest
hobby was creating wood frames for his many pictures and various memorable golf
leaderboards.
In January 2021, Gene was given an extremely unfortunate diagnosis, Stage 4 Pancreatic
Cancer. With much hope for extra time, he took part in clinical trials and chemotherapy, while
still trying to enjoy his life. Due to this, he was given the opportunity to provide his own
thoughts. He had stated the following: “Since diagnosis, God wanted us to live with cancer, not
die from it. The sadness comes from there being so much left to do, and knowing there will be
things I will miss. However, I have overwhelming joy from the experiences we’ve had, and I’ve
cherished all our times together. I thank you for your endless support, positive thoughts and
prayers, while still respecting my privacy and accepting our updates as we saw fit. In my
shortened lifetime, I’ve made plenty of mistakes. On balance, I hope that I have been helpful
with the better memories overshadowing the missteps. My intentions and goals have always been
to leave those close to me in good shape. I’ll close with this, only the Lord knows the twists of
fate in store for us. The lesson learned is to live life large and strive to enjoy more of it. I am
resting in peace, as I am in paradise.”
Gene II was preceded in death by his parents, Ruth and Gene Kiela Sr., and is survived by his
wife, Jody and their children Marlo, Gene III (Emily Grunder), and Sophia, and grandson Gene
IV. He will be missed by his siblings Greg (Sue Eigenberger), Renee (Gary Fredenburg), Gary
(Jennifer Grode), and Celia (Jay Schad) as well as all of their families and extended families.
Gene’s family would like to express our greatest gratitude to the cancer and research teams at
Froedtert Clinical Cancer Center Milwaukee, as well as to the Sharon S. Richardson Community
Hospice team.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday (December 13, 2023) at St. John the
Baptist Catholic Church in Plymouth. Visitation will take place from 10:30am-12:30pm, with
Mass to follow at 12:30pm. Fr. Subi Thomas will officiate and burial will be in Kohler
Woodland Cemetery.
Per the family’s request, PLEASE NO FLOWERS. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested
in Gene’s name to Sharon S. Richardson Community Hospice and Evans Scholars Foundation.
The Suchon Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Plymouth is assisting the family. For
online condolences, please visit www.suchonfh.com.
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