Kenny Kohberger was born October 9, 1953, in Brooklyn, NY, to Regina and Edward Kohberger. He was predeceased by his parents and a sister, Eileen. Surviving are his brothers, Phillip and Eddie (Leslie), sister Jenny (Jerry) DeLeo, nieces and nephews Kevin (Phebe), Jeff, Chris, Danielle, Matthew, PJ, Jayden and Conner. His father taught him about life and baseball … a Yankee and Mets fan. After college, Kenny became an agent and promoter of rock and roll singers and bands. He found himself traveling in limousines around NYC and living on the upper west side in a brownstone. Later he was director at the Colonial Theater in New Hampshire, earned his first master’s degree in Illinois, then moved to Madison, WI and for 15 years was the director of the Young Auditorium and taught at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater, Wisconsin. He became involved with the Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton and became an Oblate of the Benedictine Sisters of Madison.
After retiring from the University in 2018, Kenny attended the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA, where he graduated in 2022 with a MA in Theology. Inspired by his twenty plus years of sobriety, he developed a program based on the play Bill W. and Dr. Bob telling the story of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. With the help of Chaplain Mark Teslik, he piloted the program in the Columbia Correctional Facility in Portage, Wisconsin and in May of 2023 successfully led a four-day retreat based on Steps 1-3. The attendees were persons from a variety of twelve step programs. He was looking forward to writing four other retreats based on the remaining 12 steps, however a simple gallbladder surgery revealed a rare and aggressive cancer. Unfortunately, he died on August 26, 2023, before he could fulfill his dream. Family and his many friends loved him, but God loved him more and took him home.
A celebration of life was held Saturday, September 9, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, WI.
