- Date Of Birth: June 6, 1915
- Date Of Death: March 22, 2014
- State: Illinois
Kenneth Earl Wiegand of Freeport died on March 22, 2014 at Parkview Home under the care of Hospice. The son of Ethel (Young) and Frank Wiegand; he was born June 6, 1915 in Monticello, IA. He was preceded in death by his wife,Valeria, his parents and an infant brother. He married Valeria Vore of Freeport on October 5, 1946 in Champaign, IL. They had met that spring on the Read Park tennis courts and continued to play through their energetic years.
He was a loving father; he leaves a daughter, Shelley Wiegand, of Lockland, OH, a son, Evan, of Freeport and a special niece, Melanie Miller, of Freeport. Kenny graduated from Freeport High School in 1933. During that period, he started a popular bulletin board called “Ganome” and sold magazines. After graduation, he worked at the Freeport News Agency managing the magazine sales until 1936 when he began work at W T Rawleigh Company. By 1938, he had moved to Chicago for a position at the Critchfield Advertising Agency and attending classes at the Chicago Art Institute.
Due to WWII, he enlisted into the National Guard at which time he was called to active duty with the 33rd Division in the South Pacific in the roll of dental assistant for four plus years. After the war, Kenny was employed by the Freeport Journal Standard in the advertising department. 1951 came along and found him and Valeria in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where his artistic talents graced the pages of the Sun Colony magazine. Freeport called them back and he produced one of the first television guides for Vanco Printers. Finally, he found his niche in Micro Switch’s advertising department retiring from there in 1980.
Following retirement, he continued his love of art with a poster company, designing adorable “Pretzel Bill” and illustrating Valeria’s “Color Chicago Pretty” book. All that, along with playing tennis, scooter riding and visiting friends. His quick wit, large repertoire of jokes and being a living/walking Freeport history book accompanied by a framed cartoon was his gift for family and friends. If his sense of humor couldn’t brighten your day, well, something was off. He will be interred in the Oakland Mausoleum.
