Obituary of Kenneth J. Riestenberg
Kenneth J. Riestenberg passed away suddenly at the age of 74, on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, IL, with his family by his side.
Ken is survived by his loving wife, Diane (nee Doremus); daughters, Lisa (Derek) Wilhelmus and Savannah (Ryan) Riestenberg; granddaughters, Bryn and Maura Wilhelmus; brother, Ronald (Mary M.) Riestenberg; sisters, Janet (Jerry “Pickle”) Riestenberg, and Linda (Larry) Von Deylen; two nephews, four nieces and several cousins.
Ken was born in Cincinnati, OH, on October 16, 1950, to the late Walter and Rita (nee Terlinden) Riestenberg. He was a graduate with the class of 1968 from Elder High School and graduated from the University of Cincinnati. After college, Ken worked as a Chemist at Imperial Adhesives for approximately 30 years. In 2003, he and his family relocated to Plainfield, IL, where he took a job as Quality Control Manager for Henkel Adhesive Technologies. He retired from the adhesives industry in 2012.
Over the years, Ken spent many hours playing recreational softball and touch football, as well as coaching softball. He was a lifelong Cincinnati Reds and Bengals fan, as well as an Alabama football lover. Ken truly enjoyed sports of all sorts, the outdoors, gardening, reading, the pool, trivia, bad science fiction, and playing cards and board games with his family. He also attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Joliet, IL.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Park Foundation in his honor.
A Memorial Gathering for Ken Riestenberg will be held on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Rd., Joliet, IL, from 11:00 a.m. until the time of Memorial Service at 1:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be planned in Cincinnati at a later date.
For more information please call 815-741-5500 or visit his Memorial Tribute page at www.fredcdames.com, where you can share a favorite memory or leave an online condolence.
