Richard Merklein

Obituary for Richard Merklein

On July 31, 2025, Richard Merklein passed away in his sleep. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Karen, in February 2025. He is in a peaceful place, going around the skating rink with Karen, together in eternal life.

As a young couple, they saved their modest incomes to see “Europe on $5 a day.” Friends and family will remember the slide shows from this summer adventure of 1961, during which they traveled by rail and foot, and were blessed by the Pope. 

Born in 1928 to Alex and Loretta, Richard grew up with his four siblings, Jeanne, Frank, Joanne, and Jack in Milwaukee and Rhinelander. His mother taught him to play the piano by ear. Raised with his brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church, he later converted to Lutheranism. He was a critical thinker, an avid reader, especially in the areas of theology, political thought, and scientific method; a kind and generous husband, uncle, father and grandfather: loving, funny and intelligent, devoted to family and fellowship. He modeled patience and forgiveness. With his light touch on the piano keys, he would sing and play the old standards at family gatherings. A veteran of the Korean War, he sustained hearing loss during active duty. This sparked a career in audiology and speech pathology based on his studies at UW-Milwaukee and Northwestern University, where he earned his Bachelor and Master degrees, respectively. 

For many years, Richard worked at Milwaukee Public Schools as a clinical audiologist at Greenfield Avenue School. He also worked with deaf children in Rutland, Vermont. He was an active researcher publishing papers on audiology, specific to assessing children’s loss of hearing.

He is survived by his sister and brother, Joanne and Jack; his children, Paul (married to Amy) and Sara (married to Sam); his grandchildren, Jericho and Henry; his closest niece and nephew, Maureen and John, along with many more nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends from Kingo Lutheran Church, Luther Manor, and the East side of Milwaukee, where he lived for most of his adult life.  

A memorial service for Richard and Karen Merklein will be held at Kingo Lutheran Church, 1225 East Olive Street, Shorewood, Wisconsin on Thursday, September 25, 2025, from 10:30am to 11:30am. 

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Kingo Lutheran Church or Hephatha Lutheran Church.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Richard Merklein, please visit our floral store.