Charles Edwin Kienitz

Charles was born on March 18, 1931 in Milwaukee, WI to Frederick and Dorothy (McNitt) Kienitz. He enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and served during the Korean War. While stationed in Philadelphia, he met the love of his life, Rita Penn, through a blind date. They later married and had three sons and a daughter together. After being discharged from the Navy, Charles became an air traffic controller in 1959, where he worked for the FAA for 22 years. He and his family moved to a number of different cities during this time, before he retired in 1981 in Arizona. Charles and his wife were avid travellers both in the US and abroad. They enjoyed visiting places such as Hawaii, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Bullhead City, and the border city of Nogales. They also had the opportunity to visit communist East Germany 2 months before the Berlin Wall fell. His children and grandchildren always looked forward to the stories and photos he and his wife brought back to share.

Charles was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick and Dorothy, his wife, Rita, his brother and sister, James and Joan (Buxton), his son, Karl, and his grandson, Richard (Vanzile). He is survived by his daughter, Connie, his sons, Kenneth and John, his grandchildren, Ryan, Kelly (Nestvold), Jessica, Katrina, Nikolas, Rebecca (Dye), Zakary, and his 5 great grandchildren.