Kevin Patrick Flaherty

Kevin P Flaherty, Sr., surrounded by family, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Funeral services will be held on Friday, March 31, 2023 at St. John’s Nepomucene Catholic Church, Little Chute.

Our happy go-lucky, Irishman will be celebrating his 91st birthday in heaven on April 4, 2023. Born in St. Paul, MN, growing up in Duluth MN, his shenanigans were too far and too many to list. He was known for his love of life, a friend in every corner and a new one waiting to be friended. Kevin started working at a young age delivering newspapers to his 140 customers throughout his Duluth neighborhood. During his years as a Marine, he trained as an aviation electrician. As a valued chaplain’s assistant, he remained stateside to serve out his military career. He met the love of his life, Janice (Kuehnl) while they were both stationed as Marines at USMC El Toro, CA. One of Kevin and Jan’s favorite pubs in CA was the “Rusty Pelican”. Befittingly, this became a popular boat name for Kevin and Jan over the years. They married in November 1955 and recently celebrated 67 years of marriage. As he started his family, Kevin trained at the Dunwoody Institute and worked at Hamm’s Brewery, MN in the evenings. As a licensed engineer, he worked for the University of MN. Upon moving to Wisconsin, Kevin opened Sinclair and Standard gas stations serving the Appleton and surrounding communities. All of these positions and skills served him well as the Director of Facilities at Fox Valley Technical College, a role he was extremely proud of.

Kevin made sure he shared his Irish heritage by being dressed in his favorite green attire and serving green beer to staff and students on St. Patrick Day. Kevin instilled strong work ethics in all of his children. He was a jack of all trades and passed on his many skills and talents, love of boating and fishing to his children and grandchildren. He loved to hunt with his family but was found to enjoy napping near a tree instead of getting a prize deer. This allowed him to join in the Deer Camp fun later.

Kevin and Janice raised their 7 children in a small farming community in Wisconsin:  Tim (Julie), Monica (Steven), Nancy (George), Patrick (Linda), Daniel, Kevin (Tina), Terry (Penny); He was blessed with many grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Krystle (Jason), Kevin (MaryRose), Bryan, Amy (Joe), Nicole (Jon), Joseph (Danielle), Amber (Josh), Dana, Chris (Meaghan), Shelby, Alec, Sydney, Caitlin (James), Corey (Taylor), Sean (Monica), and Olivia; he is further blessed with a new Flaherty crew (in the form of great grandchildren): Corbin, Sienna, Lila, Mia, Noah, Harper, Brady, Oliver, Ethan, Aubrey, Hailey, Regan, and  Baby girl McClain on the way-ALL of these family members survive. Kevin is further survived by his brother Dillon, sister Callista, sister-in-law Marilyn, brother-in-law Michael (Trish) and many nieces, nephews and friends.  

He is preceded in death by his parents: Patrick & Blanche; in-laws: Roland (Bud) and Mildred, sisters and brothers-in-law: Nancy (Tom), Jim (Elaine), John, Bruce, Alyce, and Donald.

A funeral mass for Kevin will be held Friday March 31, 2023, at 11:30am at St John Nepomucene, 411 Vandenbroeck, Little Chute. Friends and family may join us to share stories beginning at 9:30am until the start of mass. Military honors will follow. Kevin will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery, Appleton.

We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation for Kevin’s care team:  Country Villa (too many wonderful staff to name), VA Caregivers (Sandy & Kim), and most recently, the ProMedica Hospice team

We will forever miss our beloved patriarch.

Semper Fi

Erin Go Bragh 

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund will be established.