Kevin J Muhr

Kevin John Muhr was born February 25th, 1958, to William and Kathleen Muhr in Chicago, Illinois. He passed away peacefully in his Arlington Heights home surrounded by family on Sunday, October 27th, 2024.

A proud graduate of Arlington High School’s class of 1976, Kevin dedicated his life to the airline industry. His career began as a teenager at Palwaukee Airport in Wheeling. Later, he moved with his family to the Fox Valley area, working at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, WI followed by Appleton International Airport in Appleton, WI. In 2005, he returned to Arlington Heights and rejoined Chicago Executive Airport (formerly Palwaukee) where he remained until retiring in 2014.

Kevin loved the outdoors, particularly northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Some of his hobbies included camping, fishing, bird watching, gardening, and cooking. A devoted Cubs and Bears fan, Kevin loved watching the games with family by his side. He was a gifted craftsman and shared a passion for woodworking with his father, often completing large renovations and tackling home and auto repairs. Known as the family handyman, Kevin’s skills were always in demand, and he never hesitated to lend a hand. It was a common sight for him to be working around his white cape cod house in Arlington Heights- tending to the lawn, washing or polishing his car, or doing maintenance on his car or that of his four siblings, their children, his own children, or friends.

Kevin was known for his generosity and showed his affection for others through his actions. He loved helping fix family and neighbors’ dishwashers, furnaces, vacuums, lawn mowers or cars and snow-blowing their driveways or sharing his tomatoes from the garden. He loved his family and grandchildren, who knew him as Papa.

Kevin is survived by his daughter Lauren (husband Eric), his son Justin (wife Kaylin) and son Nathan (wife Danielle). He was a loving grandfather to 7: Benson, Graham, Elle, Cameron, Cade, Kylie and Atlas. He was the oldest of five siblings: Mike; Mary (Fran) Brolley; Jo Anne (Mark) Mullen-Muhr and Bill (Christine) Muhr and uncle to nine nieces and nephews: Jake Scott, Paige (Dan German) Scott, Ben (Clarissa) Scott, David (Kyra) Mullen-Muhr, Kristin (Dan) Fink, Anna Mullen-Muhr, Kailynn Muhr, Kendall Muhr and Braden Muhr. He was preceded in death by his parents, both long-time Arlington Heights residents: Bill Muhr, in 2005, and his mother, Kathy, in 2013.

Diagnosed with cancer at the age of 52, Kevin faced his journey with courage, enduring five major surgeries, countless procedures, and 12 years of chemotherapy. His resilience was an inspiration to all who knew him. The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to the dedicated healthcare team at Illinois Cancer Specialists and will be forever thankful for the remarkable care that Unity Hospice and Always Best Care provided to Kevin in his final months.

Visitation will be on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 4-8 p.m. at Lauterberg Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights. Funeral mass will be Friday, Nov. 8 at 10 am, with a visitation at 9am, both at St. James Church, 820 N. Arlington Heights Road, in Arlington Heights.