Brian Charles King

Brian Charles “Kinger” King, 48, an enthusiastic and supportive husband, father, son, brother and friend to many, passed away peacefully at his home in Oak Creek on Friday July 7, 2023. He was surrounded by his brothers, sons, mother and loving wife following a 25-month battle with Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive type of stage 4 brain cancer. His wife, Brenda, was honored to be his wife and best friend, in sickness and in health.
Brian means “strong, virtuous and honorable”, which are words that have been used to describe Brian over the past two years, if not his entire life. He was known for hosting many backyard fires and being the last to leave a party, and he believed that “the more the merrier”, never wanting to leave anyone out of a gathering.
Brian was born on October 5, 1974, in Fond du Lac and raised on the “North Slope” of Eden. He was a graduate of St. Mary’s Grade School in Eden, a 1993 graduate of Campbellsport High School and graduated from Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Brian loved sports from his early days in little league which included basketball, baseball, football and track & field throughout high school, and he continued playing basketball at MSOE during his college years. As an adult, Brian’s athletic passion turned to golfing and coaching his boys in baseball and basketball. He absolutely loved coaching and was so proud of his sixth grade Wauwatosa Catholic School basketball team when they won the league championship in 2017.
Brian achieved the rank of Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America while in high school and he passed his love for scouting along to his sons. He was Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 109 in Milwaukee and Cub Scout Pack 221 in Oak Creek and he took much pride in making each meeting productive and meaningful for the boys.
Throughout his engineering career, Brian worked at Unit Drop Forge, Impact Engineering Solutions, Bucyrus International, Caterpillar and most recently Snap-on Tools, where he received one patent and has several others pending. Brian truly enjoyed working as an engineer and was so disappointed when his cancer progressed and he was no longer able to work.
Brian’s proudest accomplishment was his family and his boys brought him so much joy. While his illness slowed him down quite a bit, it reminded us what is truly important and he spent the last two years taking trips with friends and giving his loved ones the gift of many great memories to cherish forever.
Brian is survived by his wife of almost 22 years, Brenda (Fritz) King; children, Isaac, Owen and Aidan; mother, Virginia (Gross) King; brothers, Mark King, Timothy King and wife, Sara (Schrauth) King, his twin brother, Kevin King and wife, Miriah (Thompson) King. He is further survived by his parents-in-law, Mike and Kathy (Smith) Fritz; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Michael and Amy Fritz, and Colleen and Joel Nelson; and 11 nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his father, Stephen Jerome (Jerry) King; niece, Sarah Sue King; and nephew, Thomas Michael Nelson.
A visitation for family and friends will be held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, 2023 (with an opportunity for memory sharing at 7 p.m.) at Heritage Funeral Home, 9200 S. 27th Street, Oak Creek, WI 53154. Funeral services will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, July 14, 2023 at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, 9303 S. Chicago Road, Oak Creek, WI and interment to follow at Forest Hill Memorial Park, 3301 Forest Hill Avenue, Oak Creek. Brian was passionate about his boys’ education so memorials may be made to the family to further their education.
Brian was always so gracious in thanking his providers at each visit and his family is so thankful for the amazing care from the teams of doctors, nurses and Vitas Healthcare staff and the support and love of so many friends and relatives who helped his family navigate the last two years.
Life may end, but love does not. May his memory always make us smile.