Kenneth Eugene Mehochko died on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, at the age of 75 in Fort Myers, Florida, after a brief battle with cancer.

Ken was born in 1946 in Kankakee, Illinois, to Edmund and Lucille Mehochko. He served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1970, serving in Vietnam and Germany. While stationed in Giessen, Germany, he met and married Catherine (Katie) Ruane.

A proud Illini, Ken attended the University of Illinois where he earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Economics and a Juris Doctorate (JD).

In 1975, he came to Carlyle, to raise his family and practice law. He owned and operated Carlyle Abstract Company from 1975 to 2013, most of that time in partnership with his wife Katie. He served as the city attorney for the City of Carlyle for 32 years. One of his proudest contributions to the community was his work on the Clinton County Building Commission to construct a new county courthouse in 1999. He also served on the Board of Directors for the First National Bank in Carlyle and was a member of the Illinois Bar Association.

In recent years, Ken enjoyed partial retirement, traveling back and forth to Florida and playing the occasional round of golf, but he loved practicing law too much to fully retire.

While Ken was devoted to his work, that paled in comparison to his devotion to his family. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Edmund Jr. He is survived by his wife and best friend of 53 years, Katie, his son, John (Maureen) Mehochko of Rock Island, Illinois, daughter Anne (Stephen) Berger of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and four grandchildren, Kate and Claire Mehochko, and Libby and John Berger who will fondly remember him as their wise-cracking grandpa.

A celebration of life will be held in Carlyle in June. In support of the community he loved, memorial contributions may be sent to Matthew 25 Ecumenical Food Pantry at 1171 Livingston St. Carlyle, IL 62231.