Les Kerndt Obituary

Leslie Kerndt Jr. , 90, went to his heavenly home on October 7, 2023, from the Northgate Care Center in Waukon, IA. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, October 10th, at 11:00 AM at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating. Burial with military honors will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 9:00 AM until the time of services on Tuesday at the church. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling arrangements. The family requests no flowers or gifts be sent. Leslie William Kerndt, Jr. was born on August 28, 1933, to Leslie William and Irene (Gruber) Kerndt. He was born in a log cabin on the Center Township farm in rural Allamakee County, IA; the payment to the doctor was a Holstein bull calf. Les attended the rural schools of Center Township and graduated with the class of 1951 from Waukon High School. While in high school, he was active in all the sports. During a basketball practice, Les was dribbling down the court when the coach yell "Stretch". Stepping on the bus the next morning, everyone yelled "Stretch" and he has been known as "Stretch" ever since. After high school, Les worked with his brothers until entering the military. He then served in the United States Army during the years of 1953-55 in Korea. After returning home, he met AdaMarie Palas and they were married on June 8, 1958, at the Old West Paint Creek Lutheran Church in rural Waukon. They made their new home on the "Shattuck Farm" west of Waukon. While farming, Les was very conscious of taking care of the soil and his many Holstein cows. He received many awards from the dairy industry and also took good care of the soil. Les was active in many community and church organizations in the area, including serving as president of the Allamakee County Farm Bureau. He was maybe most proud of being a veteran and was an active member of the American Legion, VFW, and funeral details. Wondering what he would do when he retired, Les took a night class on caning and then could be found at sales buying old chairs that required caning. He would always donate a caned chair to the local "Christmas Tree Fantasy" hospital fundraiser and also did some caning for others. Les believed anything worth doing should be done well. Little thought was given to the cost or time spent on the final project. Les also enjoyed antiques, watching sports, and reading his daily newspaper in the evenings; first, he made sure to read the comics page, specifically "Jiggs", then he would move on the letters to the editor, sports section, and then finally to the actual news. Les and AdaMarie took many bus trips in their retirement years, including an unforgettable one that was scheduled to be at the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. Les is survived by his wife AdaMarie of Waukon; two sons: Mark and Brian, both of Waukon; one daughter Lisa of Dubuque, IA; his in-laws: Ernest and LaVonne (Nolting) Palas and Ernie and Donnalee (Palas) Osland; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Leslie Sr. and Irene; his brothers and their wives: Kenneth and Geraldine (Verthein) Kerndt and Willard and Arlene (Marti) Kerndt; a baby sister Ruth; his father in-law and mother in-law Henry and Alice (Svebakken) Palas, and brother-in-law Bernell Palas. Allamakee County Veterans will serve as honorary urnbearers.