Kevin M. Milbrandt

Kevin Mark Milbrandt, 55, of Hampton, Iowa, passed away on Monday, January 18, at his home in Hampton, Iowa. He was born on May 7, 1960, in St. Joseph's Hospital, New Hampton, IA, the son of Harley Milbrandt and Agnes (Kottke) Moore. He was baptized into the Lutheran faith at St. John's Lutheran Church, Boyd, IA and confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, IA. He was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Hampton. He received his elementary education in Fredericksburg, Iowa, and graduated from Hampton Community High School in 1978. Kevin was united in marriage to Rhonda Hulsing on October 13, 1984. This union was blessed with two girls, Allison, age 19, and Lindsey, age 17. Early in life Kevin was employed by Art and Sherry Wagner, Hampton, as a farm hand and then began working at Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield in 1985. He went to work every day looking forward to seeing his co-workers. He valued the many friendships that he made, including the Sukup's. He worked there for nearly 30 years, until he was forced to retire due to his health, in December, 2015. At the time of his retirement, Kevin was a three year survivor of brain cancer. Kevin enjoyed his time playing on the Hansell softball team, and as a member of the Hampton JayCees and Franklin County Fair Board. He loved getting together with his extended family and spending time with them. His family, including his sister, many aunts, uncles, and cousins, were all close and kept in touch, especially around the holidays. One of their favorite things to do was camp at Split Rock Campground in Fredericksburg, Iowa, where his cousins lived. He loved to sit around the fire and talk about all the crazy things they did in the past. One of the many stories he loved to tell was about getting an extremely heavy, hollow stump and trying to transfer it from the truck bed to a picnic table to the fire pit. In the process, the picnic table got smashed, but they were successful in the end, as they stood on the smoking stump in victory! At home, Kevin enjoyed countless hours on the patio having fires in the fire pit. He was adamant about keeping the fire going strong, regardless of the temperature outside. It could be 80 or 90 degrees, but Kevin continued to feed the fire. His motto was, "There's nothing like a beer and a fire!" Another one of Kevin's hobbies was smoking ribs and brisket in his smoker on the patio. He took pride in doing this and loved to share with friends. Kevin and Rhonda enjoyed going to Michigan International Speedway for 25 years and meeting up with friends from Pennsylvania. NASCAR was very important to Kevin. He knew all the drivers, as well as their numbers and who sponsored them. He went to numerous races, including Texas, Michigan, Chicago, Atlanta, Bristol, Martinsville, Las Vegas, and Kansas and when that weekend came for a race to be on TV for that city, he would fly his collections of flags, for the Speedway. Kevin had the privilege of participating in the Richard Petty Ride Along Experience at Kansas Speedway and also going to Talladega Super Speedway. Both of these were on his bucket list. Kevin enjoyed taking trips and always knew how to get around. One of the many trips he took was driving to Weslaco, Texas, in January, 2014, to see and spend time with his parents, Agnes and Clarence Moore. Living family members include: his wife of 31 years, Rhonda Milbrandt, Hampton; two daughters, Allison and Lindsey; his mother, Agnes (Kottke) Moore and stepfather, Clarence Moore, Hampton; sister Patricia (Milbrandt) Rieck and brother-in-law David Rieck, Riverside, Iowa; nephew Jonathan Rieck, Columbia, Missouri; two nieces, Danielle Rieck, Brighton, Massachusetts and Shelby (Rieck) Wilcox and husband Joe Wilcox great-nephew Colin Wilcox and great-niece Sloane Wilcox, North Liberty, Iowa. Kevin was preceded in death by his father, Harley Milbrandt, uncles John and Eugene Kottke, aunt Linda (Charles) Kottke, and grand-parents Fred and Edna Kottke, William and Elsa Milbrandt, and Reuben and Francis Moore. Those planning an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to Kevin Milbrandt Memorial Fund, 716 3rd Ave SE, Hampton, Iowa 50441.

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Kevin M. Milbrandt

May 7, 1960 - January 18, 2016