Frank "Burk" Krohe

Frank “Burk” William Krohe, 73, of  Crystal Lake, passed away November 29, 2022 at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital.   He was born March 30, 1949, in Beardstown, IL to the late Alfred August and Evelyn May (Martin) Krohe.

Burk married Dorothy O’Connor Krohe on July 19, 1980, in Arlington Heights, IL.

A 1967 graduate of Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Burk went on to attain a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Western Illinois University.

After graduating from Western Illinois University, he worked for the Mt. Prospect Park District before going into education. He was a physical education teacher and coached three sports – baseball, basketball and football – at Maine East High School in Park Ridge and Mundelein High School. He then served as a postal supervisor for the United State Postal Service in Elgin for many years. Toward the end of his career, he worked for Arlington Park before retiring.

Burk was an avid sports fan and an accomplished athlete and coach in his own right. He became a dedicated St. Louis Cardinals fan during his childhood in central Illinois, listening to Jack Buck and Harry Caray broadcast games on the radio. Despite moving to suburban Chicago as a teenager, his fandom for the Cards never wavered. He passed on that love to his sons.

At Glenbrook North High School, Burk was a three-sport athlete in basketball, baseball and football. He starred on the Spartans basketball team as a guard, earning a place on varsity as a freshman. His performance on the court led the Chicago Tribune to select him as a member of the 1967 League All-Star Basketball Team, while the Hollister Newspapers named him a member of its 1966-1967 All-North Shore Basketball Team. His scrappy play also once led him to be carried off the court by Spartans fans, a story he often liked to recount.

On the diamond, Burk played second base and served as team captain. In 1966, he helped lead the Spartans squad to a 15-2 rout of Maine South High School to win the Illinois Baseball State Tournament – Glenbrook North High School’s first state championship. In addition to his high school team, he played on Northbrook’s American Legion baseball team, which competed in the 1966 American Legion World Series Tournament in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

He would go on to play collegiate baseball and basketball at Edinboro State College in Edinboro, Pennsylvania for two years, before returning to Illinois to complete his undergraduate education.

In addition to team sports, Burk was a skilled golfer, who won the 1981 D’Anza Family Golf Tournament at Indian Lakes Country Club in Bloomingdale, IL. He was also an avid fresh-water angler, who became familiar with the waters of Ontario, Canada, and Wisconsin’s Northwoods fishing for musky, northern pike and walleye, and a thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast.

Without fail, Burk read multiple newspapers each day, usually completing the New York Times Crossword in pen. He had a penchant for trivia and obscure historical stories, as well. He was often the life of the party who warmed the room with an unmistakable booming laugh. He was quick with a joke or tall tale and likely to challenge friends and family to a game of Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble at holiday gatherings.

He was always generous with his time and money. He wouldn’t think twice about tipping a server $100, and there were never enough gifts under the Christmas tree for his family. Most of all, he is remembered for being a loving husband and father.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; sons, Burk (Jodie Smith) Krohe, St. Louis, Missouri and Christopher Krohe, Minneapolis, MN; sister, Marsha (Richard) Loucks, Geneseo, IL; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, December 10, from 2pm until the time of a service at 4:30pm, Saturday, December 10 at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 419 E Terra Cotta, Crystal Lake.

Donations in Burk’s memory may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois at www.nkfi.org