Howard (Donald) Joseph Kmak, age 88, of Wisconsin Dells, WI, passed away Thursday, July 11, 2024, at CrestRidge Senior Living in Dodgeville, WI, surrounded by his children (both in person and virtually).

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, July 20, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Wisconsin Dells. Visitation will be held at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church on Saturday at 8:00 a.m., with the eulogy being shared at 9:45 a.m. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Wisconsin Dells.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 19, 1935, Howard Kmak was the son of Joseph and Virginia (Lyk) Kmak. Raised in South Side Chicago, Howard enrolled at Mater Dolorosa Minor Seminary at the age of fourteen. Following that, he traveled to Ireland and received a Bachelors in philosophy at Servite College in Benburb, Ireland. Howard returned to the states and studied at Stonebridge Priory in Illinois, graduating with a major in religious studies and a minor in education in 1961. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1962.

While traveling the United States as an Assistant Servite Order Provincial, Howard completed classes in philosophy, religious studies, and the sciences and obtained a number of certificates. During his ten years as a chemistry teacher at Chicago's St. Philip Basilica High School, he earned a master's degree in education from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. Fr. Howard was teaching philosophy at Detroit's Servite Training Center when Sr. Caroyle Walling approached him to commend his class. The rest, as they say, is history. August 14, 1976, in Wisconsin Dells, Howard and Caroyle were married at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church.

Howard was quite the handyman over the years, helping to construct his family's home in rural Wisconsin Dells, tuning up vehicles, repairing what was broken, and building what was needed.

For several years, Howard managed Almet Lawnlite's Baraboo plant and later served as a marriage tribunal officer for the Diocese of Madison. After retiring, Howard worked as a golf course lawn mower and eventually became the neighborhood's go-to guy for snow removal. He taught religious education classes, sang the Exhaultant at every Easter Vigil, and served as an RCIA coordinator in addition to being an active member of the choir and lector at St. Cecilia's Church.

Howard cherished his wife, Caroyle, and constantly sang her praises. After their children left home, he fulfilled many of her wishes including building her a deck, having the driveway paved, getting her a pet dog (Amos), buying her a VW bug, and taking her on an Alaskan cruise.  Even after her death in February 2021, Howard's devotion to her persisted, shown by his frequent visits to the cemetery to have lunch with her.

From their early years to their adulthood, Howard was a committed supporter of his children's activities, going to athletic events, concerts, and performances. He was a founding member of the Tamarack Hunting Club and took each of his children deer hunting as a rite of passage. According to local folklore, he bagged a buck every year for forty-three consecutive seasons. Childhood memories of the Kmak children include Sunday drives after church listening to Polka music in the radio, camping trips (complete with Howard singing and playing the harmonica around the campfire), gathering wood to heat the family home with the Ben Franklin stove, wearing corsages he purchased for the girls every Easter Sunday, posing for numerous family photos on holidays and family vacations, being video recorded by him every Christmas while opening presents, sitting through an entire lecture when asking him for help with homework, learning to ride bikes he had fixed, swinging on the homemade tire swing, shooting hoops into a Howard-engineered basketball hoop, canoe rides down the Wisconsin River, filling the house with music from his record player or reel-to-reel, and singing Christmas carols around the annual 15-foot Christmas tree.

Howard is survived by his daughters Monica Kmak (Larry Owen), Julia Thoe, Cynthia Kmak (Mark Winston), Katrina Kmak (John Burdick IV), son Joseph (Claire) Kmak, grandsons Adrian and Jamison Thoe, and John Burdick V. He is further survived by his siblings James (Regina) Kmak and Maria Kmak (late Thomas) Connolly, as well as many nieces, nephews, friends and family. He is preceded in death by his wife Caroyle Jeanne Walling Kmak, mother Virginia Ann Lyk Kmak and father Joseph Peter Kmak.

Plants and flowers are welcome. Monetary contributions in memory of Howard can be made to St. Vincent dePaul, Wisconsin Dells.