Obit: Mertens, Kevin Keith (1960 - 2006)
Contact:  Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon

Surnames: Mertens, Thorson, Thielke, Sweningson, Sanger

----Sources: The Thorp Courier, Thorp, WI, August 30, 2006

Mertens, Kevin Keith (August 31, 1960 - August 5, 2006)

Kevin K. Mertens, age 45, Placentia, California, formerly of the Owen and Stanley area, died August 5, 2006, while trucking in Nashville, TN.

A memorial service for Kevin will be held on Thursday, August 31, at 2:00 p.m. at the Maurina Funeral Home in Owen, with Reverend Tom Myhre officiating.

Kevin Keith Mertens was born August 31, 1960, in Marshfield, the son of Keith Allen and Eileen Marie (Thorson) Mertens. He was a 1978 graduate of Stanley-Boyd High School. Kevin attended Southwest Wisconsin Vocational Tech Institute in Fennimore and was named All Around Butcher. In 2005, he graduated from Professional Advance School of Driving in Fontana, CA.

Kevin’s most recent occupation this past year was owner-operator of Mertens Trucking. Before the trucking business, he owned Mertens Meat Market in Naples, FL for four years. Kevin began his career in the grocery business at the age of 13 at Thorson’s IGA in Owen and specialized in meat cutting and the retail grocery marketing business for 27 years. Kevin was a music lover and enjoyed his band "Ripp Tide" as bass guitarist.

Kevin and Michelle Thielke, the mother of his children, were united in marriage. He later married Ellen Sweningson. Both marriages ended in divorce.

Survivors include his mother Eileen Thorson of Placentia, CA; his children: Mick Mertens of Eau Claire, Kelley Mertens of Eau Claire, and Kurt Mertens of Phoenix, AZ; and one sister, Cheryl Sanger of Chino Hills, CA.

Maurina/Community Funeral Homes assisted the family with arrangements.