Kenneth Emanuel Schwenke, 80, of Weimar, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, three days after his birthday, surrounded by his family, at the Hallettsville Nursing & Rehabilitation Center after a nine-month stay following several falls at home. Another fall at the rehab center set him back and additional complications followed.
Kenneth Emanuel Schwenke
Kenny was born on Dec. 5, 1942 to Ben and Elenora Meyer Schwenke in Houston, and was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic faith. At an early age, his family moved to the Engle area where he learned his future trade of being a welder while spending time watching his dad in his blacksmith shop. He attended and graduated from Schulenburg High School. Having five uncles who had been in the military, one of his biggest regrets in life was not being able to join one of the military branches after graduation because he was hard of hearing. After this disappointment, he continued working with his dad for several years before he moved to Houston to live with his Uncle Herman and Aunt Iola. Kenny’s first job, working for Central Freight Lines, lasted a total of one day. It did not take long for him to decide this was not the job for him! It was at that time that Uncle Herman stepped in getting Kenny a job working with him at Brown & Root.
On April 13, 1969, Kenny married Lynelle Vornsand. While raising his family, he continued working at Brown & Root for over 35 years until his retirement. He then moved to Weimar where he was able to continue doing part-time jobs enjoying the work he loved.
Kenny enjoyed dove hunting, target shooting, and skeet shooting. His all-time favorite song was “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones. He enjoyed doing many things with his family. They visited the Battleship Texas on several occasions. Watching the reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto and Santa Anna’s surrender was as much as yearly thing as the Wings over Houston Air Show, watching the fighter planes. In 2019, Kenny made a trip with his kids and grandkids to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. This was a trip that he had wanted to take for quite some time.
He is survived by his wife, Lynelle Schwenke of Weimar; son, Michael Schwenke of La Porte; daughter, Kerry Schwenke and husband Ron Loun of Pinehurst; grandchildren, Ben Schwenke, Johanna Schwenke, Kirsten Loun and Sarah Loun; sister, Jeanette Stuckly and husband John of Schulenburg; sister-in-law, Loreen Rhodes of Weimar; nephews, Roger Stuckly, Todd Perrin and David Stuckly; nieces, Dawn Muehr and Robin Guenther; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ben and Elenora Schwenke; infant sister, Vivian Schwenke; father/mother-in-law, Hugo and Elsie Vornsand; and brothers-in-law, Kerwin Vornsand, Reuben Vornsand and Jerry Rhodes.