Kenneth Peter Kruk, 79, of Flower Mound, Texas, passed away in his home peacefully on June 15, 2022 after a short battle against a malignant brain tumor. Kenn was born on May 16, 1943, to Henry and Stephenie Kruk in Chicago, Illinios Cook County Hospital. He grew up in Chicago on the North side and went to Lane Tech his first three years and spent his senior year at St. Benedict’s High School where he graduated. Kenn enjoyed a childhood full of neighborhood friends and cousins that would organize pick up football, basketball, and baseball games. They would play in the shadow of Wrigley Field and the occasional Sears parking lot, where Kenny would show off his athletic prowess and cherish memories of the friendly competition he and his buddies would enjoy. Home life with siblings Judy and Steven was something that Kenn always valued and his Cousin Andy was a lifelong friend that he stayed in constant contact. After graduating high school, Kenn took some college classes at a local community college while working at his Dad’s factory, eventually taking an entry level job in the warehouse for DuPont where he would be introduced to his first wife, Arlene Barrett in 1966; they married April 22, 1967. His first child Brian Kenneth was born December 23, 1968. “Uncle DuPey,” as he would call it, offered Kenn a promotion in the Sales Department effective January 1, 1969 with a relocation to Davenport, Iowa. After a pretty intense move and even more intense travel itinerary where his sales territory included northern Illinois and eastern Iowa, Kenn recognized the strain on his young family and asked to be reassigned to the Chicago area. Round Lake Beach, Illinois would be their next home and his second child, Melissa Elizabeth was born June 1, 1971. Arlene began to have health issues starting with a gall bladder to be removed, and eventually doctors found that she had Marfan’s Syndrome with complications that go along with that. Kenn recognized that Houston provided the necessary medical advantages to deal with Arlene’s condition, so he called on Uncle DuPey to transfer him to Houston, Texas and it landed his family in League City, just south of Houston. Unfortunately, Arlene died February 12, 1975 after receiving an artificial heart valve. Kenn became a single parent with two children and a home that was not particularly close to his job. To make the commute shorter, he moved from League City to Clute, Texas. In Clute, he was able to raise his children and enjoy the company of friends like Phil Sear and John Neismith, who both provided solace during this transition. Kenn began to date again and by invitation to a Thanksgiving party thrown by another DuPont associate and his wife, Bob and Lea Vernier, he met their daughter Diane who he eventually married on April 15, 1978. With his new wife, he had his third child on June 16, 1979, Martin Kenneth, in a hospital in Freeport, Texas. Martin was life flighted to Houston for premature complications and spent 6 weeks in the neonatal ICU before coming home. Kenn moved his family to Clear Lake Forest in Seabrook, Texas for proximity to the Verniers and his ever expanding job responsibilities that included the entire shipping channel and most of the upper Texas Gulf Coast. His fourth child, Joseph Henry was born January 17, 1981 in Clear Lake, Texas. Kenn remained in Clear Lake for 5 years before being transferred to Wilmington, Delaware to serve DuPont as a “know it all” for Paint Maintenance in the corporate headquarters. He moved his family just outside of West Chester, Pennsylvania where his two oldest children graduated high school. Kenn eventually grew weary of the office and after a few years he made a move, not only out of the office, but also away from DuPont. Through a connection with a customer and good friend, Bob Guier of Conoco, Kenn “retired” from DuPont and joined Bob in Ponca City, Oklahoma in order to spend more time in the field. The move gave him a nice place to raise kids and live in a house with a pool and big lot to entertain friends and family. His younger two children graduated from Ponca City High School, where his family spent the longest in one place, enjoying membership in the Ponca City Country Club, playing golf on a regular basis with Guier and their sons, while also enjoying fishing and everything Oklahoma offered outdoors. Conoco unfortunately suffered downsizing, as most oil dependent companies did after the turn of the century, and Kenn relied on his network of friends to find further employment in retirement by “commuting” to Houston and working for Gartner for a short time along with his daughter Melissa. Kenn also did independent consulting work for earlier DuPont and Conoco connections, which gave him the flexibility to relocate just about anywhere. His first grandchild, Kellen was born July 15, 2000 and to be closer, he and Diane moved to Pearland, Texas where they also welcomed their second grandchild, Kaylie, born May 7, 2003. Their third grandchild, Audra, was born October 9, 2007 and a short time later his fourth grandchild, Lily, was born April 22, 1009. Again, to be closer to the growing family, Diane and Kenn relocated to the Dallas area where they welcomed their fifth grandchild, Crosby, born August 18, 2013. As Kenn began to contemplate life beyond work and his love of family, dreams for a family compound or RV tour of Texas between his four children were discussed before he landed on a proposal to build a new custom home with a mother-in-law attached section with Joseph and his family in Flower Mound. Kenn enjoyed the golden years of his life with front row seat watching his grandchildren grow up, while playing pickleball, a sport he discovered long before it became well known. Kenn welcomed the birth of his sixth grandchild, Lexi born July 6, 2015 and his seventh grandchild, Pauli born May 15, 2017. Kenn was an extremely intelligent man, who loved to ask questions and always searched for knowledge. He loved to begin conversations with, “…I am curious…” and he was genuinely interested in your answers. While he was inquisitive, he also enjoyed the conversation and loved to engage in deeper topics to challenge your thoughts while he shared a drink with you. Kenn passed along his love of sports to each of his children and, maybe more enduring, his love of education. He emphasized how important education was, and made it a goal to see that each of his children graduated from college; he proudly boasted that three of his children went on to earn Masters Degrees as well. This legacy of education was made even more clear when three of his children become teachers, and whether or not he thought it was the best career path or not, his love of knowledge and passing it along made an impression. His love of family was evident through his actions but most of all by the way he always said, “I love you.” If there was one thing that he wanted to make abundantly clear, was that he loved his family and friends. Kenn was predeceased by his mother, Stephenie, his father, Henry, and his first wife, Arlene. Kenn is survived by his wife, Diane, his sons and their wives (Brian and Sharon; Martin and Ingrid; Joe and Jancy), his daughter and her husband (Melissa and Chris Yeroyannis), his grandchildren (Kellen, Kaylie, Audra, Lily, Crosby, Lexi, and Pauli), his sister, Judy and brother, Steven. Family was of the utmost importance to Kenn. Everything he did in life was for or because of his family. Friendship was also an enduring part of his life and catching up with friends was a favorite pastime for him. Kenn lived most of his life with vigor, love, laughter, silliness, and strength. We can reflect on the man who wanted to see his family happy, hear us laughing (never minding being the butt of the jokes and often reveling in it), and know that he loved us, not as the captain on this cruise ship but rather the entertainment director that sometimes would tell us “come pull my finger.” On behalf of the Kruk family, thank you for the many forms of sympathy that have been expressed, especially your prayers. The loss of Kenn is difficult but we find comfort in his memory and that he will live eternally. Zyj dobrze, smiej sie czesto, kochaj mocno – Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often. A Celebration of Life for Kenn will be held by the family in Wyoming next summer, per his wishes. His ashes will be scattered at a rest stop with his favorite view on the south side of Yellowstone National Park.