Kenneth John Koerber

Kenneth John Koerber passed away on March 28, 2021 at the age of 89.  He was born in the depths of our nations Great Depression on January 25, 1932, in Evanston, Illinois.  He was the 5th of 6 children to Lorenz and Henrietta Koerber.  He had 4 older brothers who predeceased him, and a younger sister Carol Silva of Fresno, California who survives.  He was especially proud of his older brother living to the ripe old age of 97. He married Anne Stoike in 1958, and had 6 sons, Doug, John, Greg, Tom, Ken Jr., and Bill, and 7 grandchildren.  On January 2, 1987 he married Esther Lord of South Bend.  The Lord family produced new relationships with many grandchildren and great grandchildren which he deeply cherished.  As a young man he attended New Trier High School and grew up in Wilmette, IL.  He followed his older brothers to the golf course for various caddie jobs in several of Chicago’s north shore golf courses.  As a result, he received a prestigious Chick Evans Scholarship to attend Northwestern University, where he graduated with a degree in History.  He spent his adult life working in the finance field and loved stocks and investing.  He was an Army Veteran of the Korean War.  He was a devout Catholic and loved church and was a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus, where he served as Grand Knight.  He was an avid Notre Dame fan, and Football season ticket holder since 1962.  He spent many a weekend tailgating and attending games rooting on his beloved Irish.  He saw many momentous live sporting events, including Notre Dame’s upset win of UCLA where the Irish broke UCLA’s 88 game winning streak on a cold winter morning in January 1974.  He also saw the Texas USC Rose Bowl National Championship Game in 2006.  With the game hanging in the balance, he asked to leave early “to beat the traffic” but fortunately his son, who was a Texas graduate, flatly refused.  He loved to golf, and introduced all of his sons to the game at South Bend Country Club as well as Erskine Golf Course. His love for golf was further exhibited by working as a course marshal at Knollwood Golf Course in his retirement years.  He loved people, especially young children and would frequently engage them in conversation wherever he went. He is survived by his wife Esther Lord Koerber, Linda, Bruce, and Phil Lord of the South Bend area. Patricia and Larry Gabbard of Elkhart, his 6 son’s and may grandchildren and great grandchildren.  He will dearly missed! A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m., Saturday April 17, 2021 in St. Joseph Catholic Church, South Bend, Indiana.

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