Fred A. Kittel

Fred A. Kittel, 78, of Rockford passed away Tuesday, October 29, 2013 in his home with his children by his side. Born January 4, 1935 in Watertown, Wisconsin; the son of William and Laura (Hanke) Kittel. Fred served in the United States Air Force as well as the Wisconsin National Guard. He was a machinist at National Lock for many years, a building engineer at Amcore Bank and during his retirement years, he worked at Warren's Garage. Fred loved working on cars as well as fishing, hunting, traveling, and spending time with his grandsons. He also had a love for and special bond with dogs. He was kind, compassionate, gentle and soft spoken. To his family, he was known as a "mechanical genius," as he was able to fix anything often making it better than new. Most of all, he loved being around people, especially his family.

Fred is survived by his daughter, Denise Noe, son-in-law, Jim and their children, Alex and Sam; his son, David Kittel, David's partner, Jason Geiger and their foster son, Trey; companion, Marilyn Menor; sisters, Ella Reinel and Mary Meyers; brother-in-law, Tony Dzik and several nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his wife of 32 years, Toni, his parents, William and Laura, siblings, Bill Kittel, Nora Zuebke, Ed Kittel and Ruth Weige and in-laws, Anton and Frances Dzik.

Memorial service will be at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, Mulford Chapel, 1860 S. Mulford Rd. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until the time of the service on Wednesday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family for a memorial fund in Fred's name to be finalized at a later date. To express online condolences, please visit: www.fitzgeraldfh.com.