Ken Riffel

Ken Riffel, age 80, of Mishawaka, went to be with the Lord at 2:05 am Sunday, December 27, 2015 at the Hospice House of South Bend. Ken was born February 6, 1935 in South Bend, Indiana to Kenneth and Virginia (VanLue) Riffel. On May 26, 1954, he married Joan Gushwa in South Bend.
Joan survives, along with their children Cindy (Doug) Hull of Maple City, Michigan, Karen (Francis) Bolen of South Bend, and Suzan (Charlie) Dixon of Mishawaka. Ken is also survived by his mother, Virginia Riffel of South Bend, and his siblings Edward G. Riffel of Palm Springs, California and Connie Leonhard of South Bend. Surviving as well are six grandchildren; Todd (Jenny) Clemens, Stacy (Sean) Welty, Joe (Jessica) Dixon, Sarah (Andrew) Minegar, Andrea Hemphill and Julia Hemphill, and six great grandchildren; Payton and Elyse Welty, Carter and Cami Clemens, and Connor and Oliver Dixon. Also surviving is his faithful Golden Retriever, “Abby.” He was preceded in death by his father Kenneth Riffel Sr.
Ken was employed for several years as an engineer at Memorial Hospital of South Bend retiring in 1999. In his spare time, he enjoyed carving wood ducks and shoes, tinkering with things around his home, biking, cross country skiing, and spending time with his wife and family on the river on his pontoon boat “JoKen Around” Ken also loved to travel with his family, and spent many hours volunteering with his dogs at the local nursing homes.
Ken’s wishes were to be cremated, and there will be memorial visitation from 3-6 pm Wednesday, December 30, 2015 at Zimmerman-Inman Funeral Home in Osceola. There will also be one hour of visitation prior to the celebration of his life at 11am Thursday, December 31, 2015 at Osceola United Methodist Church where he was a longtime member.
In his memory, donations may be made to the Center for Hospice or Osceola United Methodist Church.