Friday, December 20, 2019
Beloved husband for 65 years of Anneliese “Lisa”; loving father of Kathleen (Mark) Kienstra and Jeaneane Oelke; dear grandfather “Opo” of Stefanie, Therese “Elizabeth,” and Christopher Kienstra; dear brother, uncle, cousin, and friend.
John was born on March 9, 1929 in Hohenkarzig, Germany and grew up in Berlin. He came to the United States in 1953, settling in St. Louis, and in the next year, Lisa joined him and they got married. A few years later, Kathleen was born, and then Jeaneane.
John’s greatest love was his family and friends. He always had German wine in his wine fridge, ready to serve and entertain. He loved to craft custom wood pieces for his family in his home woodshop, making everything from desks for his grandchildren’s first homes, serving trays for entertaining in the kitchen, and personalized wood journals. He was so hands-on with his building endeavors that the even built a car for Kathleen–a Bradley in a rust orange color, covered in glitter, for her to drive to high school.
John also loved to rock. He was a licensed amateur radio operator, and had his own call number, K0JDO. He began his career here in St. Louis at KSD-TV/AM/FM, before moving on to WRTH as chief engineer, and spent the remainder of his career with KSHE as chief engineer. Even in retirement, he continued to serve as site manager of the TV/Radio transmission tower on Mackenzie Rd.
He was a musician, and loved to play the bass, accordion, and music from his record players, phonograph and jukebox. He would dance with Lisa to Dixieland jazz, and filled his home with tunes of symphony music and Jethro Tull.
His career milestones included being inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in July 2008, and being a member of the Musicians Association of St. Louis, Local 2-197.
Visitation Sunday, December 22, 4:00 – 8:00pm Held at Kutis Funeral Home, Affton Chapel: 10151 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123
Funeral Monday, December 23, 12:30pm Held at Kutis Funeral Home, Affton Chapel: 10151 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123
Internment at Sunset Memorial Park: 10180 Gravois Road, St. Louis, MO 63123
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.