Sept. 22, 1930 – Aug. 18, 2024
Kenneth Bode, 93, of Kewanna, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024.
Ken was born on Sept. 22, 1930, in Joliet, Ill., to Theodore and Lillian (Stuenkel) Bode. Growing up he shared his childhood with two brothers, Wayne and Wesley. Along with his father and brother Wayne, Ken worked on the family farm in Monee, Ill., where they raised crops, provided custom corn shelling and had a dairy herd of fine Holstein cows.
In 1971, Ken moved to Kewanna along with his brother Wayne, where they continued to farm together raising corn and soybeans. He could often be found atop his Case or New Holland farm equipment. He had a strong mechanical aptitude and was skilled at repairing machinery breakdowns. He loved farming, and although retired for several years, continued to help his nephew Glen on the farm part-time into his early 90s.
Ken was a member of the St. John Lutheran Church in Rochester. There he met Ann Jonushaitis (nee Austinis). The two married in 2011 after a long established relationship. Ken and Ann spent many winters in Florida and also traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, and throughout the United States.
Many family visits with Ken and Ann included attending local events such as the Fulton County Fair, the Kewanna Fall Festival and Power of the Past in Winamac. Ken enjoyed taking Ann’s family members on country drives and showing them, especially the little ones, the grain bins and the big farm equipment. Ann’s family will always love and remember Ken for his kindness and caring support throughout the years and as her granddaughter Riley stated, “He was a joy to be around; he wanted to make sure his family was taken care of, and he gave the best hugs”.
Preceding Ken in death are his wife Ann, his parents, his brothers Wayne and Wesley, and stepdaughter Karen.
Left to cherish Ken’s memory are sisters-in-law, Glenda Bode, of Kewanna, and Susan Bode, of Herscher, Ill.; nieces and nephews, Lisa Bode, Glen Bode (Amy), Brenda Offermann (David), Scot Bode (Kristie), Denise Huston (Guy), Todd Bode, Karen Schutters; several great-nieces and nephews; Ann’s son Martin Austin (Mary), and Ann’s grandchildren Rachel (Patrick), Alex, Hilary, Brent, Brittney (Blaine), and Riley (Daniel); and three great-grandchildren.
A celebration of the life of Kenneth Bode is at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at Good Family Funeral Home, 1200 W. 18th St., Rochester. Pastor Curtis May will officiate.
Friends may visit with the family from 9-11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Interment will be at the Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery, Richton Park, Ill., at 11 a.m. CDT Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Pastor Brian Reeves will preside.
Memorials may be made to the Bode Family Fund through the Northern Indiana Community Foundation, 227 E. Ninth St., Rochester, IN 46975, or the St. John Lutheran Church, 404 Jefferson St., Rochester, IN 46975. Online expressions of sympathy may be made to his family at www.goodfamilyfh.com.
