On April 27, 2022, Kim Michael Vogel died unexpectedly while traveling in Rome, Italy. Born in Watertown, Wisconsin to Jay and Suzanne (Wenzel) Vogel on March 11, 1957. He was baptized at St. John’s Golden Lake/Sullivan and confirmed at St. John’s in Jefferson. He was raised in Jefferson until moving to Kenosha in the early 80s. Kim was a member of New Life Evangelical Lutheran Church (Friedens) in Kenosha.

On March 10, 1984, Kim married Connie Wedl at the St. Coletta Chapel in Jefferson; they had two daughters, Kelly and Katlyn. They later divorced. On August 1, 2003, Kim married Louise Cyra at Friedens Lutheran Church in Kenosha and added son, Nicholas Cyra, and daughter, Emma Cyra, to his loving family.

Kim was a Financial Advisor for Thrivent Financial. He started at Aid Association of Lutherans, a Thrivent predecessor organization, in 1983. Over the past four decades, Kim was consistently a top Financial Advisor for client service and production, not only in Wisconsin but nationally. In 2008, he achieved one of Thrivent’s highest honors as he was inducted into its Hall of Fame. Then in 2017, he was inducted into the Thrivent Hall of Fame Legends. He has also served on the Shoreland High School Foundation Board for numerous years to support the financial stability of the school.

A loyal Wisconsin sports fan, he cheered on the Packers, Brewers, Bucks, and Badgers. He enjoyed playing golf, fishing, and an occasional trip to the casino with friends. He also was fortunate to travel extensively visiting locations all over the world.

The greatest joy in Kim’s life was spending time with his family and friends. He loved hosting holiday gatherings and he never missed an opportunity to tell a story or find a way to add humor. You knew you were part of the family when he started to tease you to get a reaction. Kim was looking forward to a new chapter of life in retirement. He had more plans to travel and spend time golfing and fishing with his friends and most importantly grandchildren.

Preceded in death by his father, Jay Vogel, grandparents Roy and Elaine Wenzel, and Emil and Sadie Vogel. Kim is survived by his wife, Louise, mother, Suzanne, children Kelly (Tom) Banner, Katlyn (Ian) Ashton, Nicholas and Emma Cyra, grandchildren, Jacob and Benjamin Banner, Evelyn and Brianna Ashton. Kim is further survived by brothers Daniel (Carolyn) and Thomas (Lorraine) Vogel, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and numerous close and lifelong friends.

The family would like to thank members of the Thrivent management team that were traveling with Kim and Louise in Italy when he died. Their comfort and support for Louise helped her to navigate the multiple international requirements to bring Kim home.

Kim lived a life believing in generosity where you “pay it forward” by giving to those charities that are meaningful to you. Memorials in Kim’s name may be made to the Racine/Kenosha Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace www.shpbeds.org , Make a Wish Foundation www.wish.org, MACC Fund www.maccfund.org , Wounded Warrior Project www.woundedwarriorproject.org, the Shoreland Lutheran High School Foundation www.slhs.us  or a charity of your choice.

Service Info

A Celebration of Life for Kim will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 5601 Washington Road. The service at Lord of Life may be viewed at http://www/facebook.com/lordoflifekenosha/live/.

A visitation honoring Kim's life will be held on Friday, May 20, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Piasecki Funeral Home 3720 39th Avenue and on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at Lord of Life from 10:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the church.