Joseph Charles Kochanek
1961-2026
Joseph “Joe” Charles Kochanek was born to Shirley (nee Donat) and Chet Kochanek in March of 1961. He was a protective and loving big brother to Michael (Eve). A gregarious kid who did not like to sit still, he made many friends in parochial school and later in an alternative high school, connections in some cases he maintained throughout his life. He was known for his sense of humor, hijinks and loyalty to friends.
He had a curious nature and enjoyed figuring out how things worked. With a desire to meet people and experience the world, he traveled through the Midwest, Canada and lived for a while in Alaska. Returning home, he joined the Navy and dedicatedly served as an aviation electrician, traveling the world in his years of service. He found the people, food culture, and history fascinating in each port he visited or base on which he served including Jamaica, Italy, Isreal, and Turkey (where he had the best meal of his life).
He married his sweetheart, Kymn (nee White) during his service, then returned to DuPage County to raise his family. After his service, he made a career of fixing things - first in residential appliance repair, then restaurant equipment service, moving to conveyor systems in meat processing plants and finally in technical support for boilers. His friendly nature combined with his desire to solve problems made him excellent at customer service. He connected well with coworkers and customers alike. He enjoyed driving to and later flying to customers businesses across the US, managing to work in every state except New Mexico, with forays to Canada, Mexico, Iceland, and Denmark.
He shared his curiosity with his two children, Alyeska and Colton, driving them anywhere they wanted to go to attend shows, events, installations, classes, concerts, conventions, restaurants, museums, and performances. He took them on trips throughout the US and encouraged them to travel abroad. He particularly liked beach vacations, enjoying the Bahamas, Belize, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Aruba.
He passed on his sense of justice and social involvement to his children, discussing politics, current events, social action, and the cultural implications of music and movies with them. He encouraged them to stay informed, vote, and participate in actions against injustice.
An empathetic man, who gave great bear hugs. He loved his family deeply and was loyal to friends. Most of all, he delighted in making people laugh.
An unexpected diagnosis of brain cancer took his life in five short months but allowed him time to connect with family and friends.
Joe requested a lake front gathering for his celebration of life. Details to come.
In lieu of flowers, he requested that donations be made to Disabled American Veterans https://help.dav.org
GUESTBOOK
I never had the pleasure or privilege to get to know Joe for long. After reading this obituary of his life story, I feel like I’ve known him. What a beautiful tribute I can tell what a wonderful person he was by how his wife and son are when they speak of him. I’ll be praying for your family during this time. -Karen Williams
I am deeply saddened to hear of your loss Kymn, and family. I truly enjoyed—and will greatly miss—our driveway talks after work or while attending to the dogs. We shared conversations about work, life, the military, travel, and most importantly, family. Those moments meant a lot to me. He was such a great man—full of wisdom, kindness, and passion—and I feel grateful to have known him as both a neighbor and a friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you, Aly, Colton, and Kymn, during this difficult time. Please know that we are here for you, today and always. -Josh Ruge
