William David Kronke

William David Kronke passed away Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at Springhill Village Nursing Home, where he had been a resident for the past three years and received hospice care for the past year.

He was 90. 

He is survived by his children David, Donna and Dean, his son-in-law Alan McElroy, daughters-in-law Miranda Kronke and Ebbie McInerney and grandson Johnathon.

His wife of 61 years, Carol Jean Kronke, preceded him in death in June of 2023. 

He was born in 1934 in Peoria, Illinois to Orien and Mae Kronke. He served in the Army in South Korea from 1956 to 1959 and attended Butler University in Indianapolis. 

He often described his early years as “lonely,” though that would change after his first date, with Carol Jean Frank, who would become his wife. They met in Indianapolis while both participated in a bowling league. 

Despite his trepidation, he asked her out for coffee and she agreed, though they later found out that neither one really liked coffee all that much. 

Of Carol, William wrote that she was “someone you can talk to and share secrets that no one else should know about. … Someone to laugh with for no reason except your private jokes and situations.”

After marrying in 1960, they moved to Evansville in 1964, where he worked as a bookkeeper for Farmer’s Hatchery. He later was employed as a comptroller for the women’s apparel store deJong’s, and took early retirement in 1994. 

William and Carol moved to Terre Haute in 2013.

William was dedicated to Carol and assisting her in her spiritual services for others. He said of her, “She is my life.”

As the church in Terre Haute that he and Carol attended has closed, there are no plans for a memorial service in the area. Plans for a memorial service in Evansville for friends and extended family have yet to be determined. His son Dean will preside over it when it occurs. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the local food pantry of one’s choice.