Kurt W. Pingel

Kurt William Pingel, 77, of Palatine, passed away peacefully on June 4, 2014 after saying goodbye to his loving wife and immediate family.  Kurt was born in Shawano, Wisconsin, to Harold and Mabel Pingel, and lived the majority of his life in Palatine, Illinois.

Kurt was a passionate man who enjoyed spending time with his family.  Most special to Kurt was spending his summer vacations in northern Minnesota at Trout Lake.  In his spare time, Kurt enjoyed rooting on his beloved Packers, assigning football and baseball, and officiating/refereeing baseball, football and basketball.  During his life, Kurt served his community as president of the Arlington Heights Youth Athletic Association and Umpires Metropolitan Professional Services.  Over the years, he was also very involved in his church.  Kurt served in the Army from 1959 through 1961 and worked for more than 40 years as a sales broker in northern Illinois.

Kurt is survived by his loving wife Barbara of 54 years, daughter Nancy (Roger) Blackmer of Wauconda, daughter Kathy (Gary) Birkland of Crystal Lake; daughter Heidi (Dr. Mark) Wojciechowski of Wauconda; and Heather (Dave) Huntington of Round Lake, as well as his nine loving grandchildren: Michael, Kelly, Adam, Austin, Nathan, Isabelle, Sydney, Katie and Ryan. He is also survived by his brother Dr. William (Edie) Pingel of San Diego, California; his brother-in-law William (Donna) Granger of Waukesha, Wisconsin, as well as his nephews Luke and Tyler Pingel. Kurt was a loving father, husband, grandfather, uncle and friend to all.

The family welcomes friends to pay their respects from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at the Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Highway, Palatine, and from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the Funeral Service, 11:00 a.m. Monday, June 9, 2014 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 1234 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights.  The Interment will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington.

Memorial donations may be made, in Kurt’s name, to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research, Grand Central Station, PO Box 4777, NY, NY 10163-4777 (www.michaeljfox.org) or to Journey Care Hospice, 405 Lake Zurich Road, Barrington, IL 60010 (www.journeycare.org).