V. Kirt Fiegel, loving husband and father, successful businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and great friend, passed away in Elkhorn on July 26, 2023, at the age of 81, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Kirt was born in Watertown on January 11, 1942, the son of Victor and Helen (Bickett) Fiegel. In 1952, in the back of a machine shop in Walworth his parents founded A.K. Rubber Company. The business was immediately successful and it wasn't long before it outgrew its limited space. With the help of the newly-formed Elkhorn Development Company in 1956, the company bought property and built a factory on West Centralia Street; the family followed in 1957.

Kirt graduated from Elkhorn High School in 1960, and in 1964 from Waukesha's Carroll College with a degree in business administration. His junior year in college was spent attending the University of Hawaii, a state that he loved and that figured prominently for him in subsequent years. Upon college graduation, he entered the U.S. Navy Officer's Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Having discovered his sharp business acumen during officer's training, in 1965 the Navy appointed him purser on the U.S.S. Frontier as a Lieutenant J.G., this despite Kirt's having volunteered for active duty in Viet Nam. The Frontier alternated station between Anaheim, CA, and Honolulu, HI.

In Anaheim, a romance flourished with Dixie Daacon, herself an Elkhorn graduate of a year later than Kirt who was teaching elementary school there, and he knew he had found the love of his life. They were married in Anaheim on August 13, 1966, in a regal Naval officer's ceremony replete with military honors and drawn sabers. Their daughter Andrea was born in May of 1967 while they were stationed in Honolulu. Daughter Laurie (Matesevac) was born in Elkhorn in 1970. Kirt and Dixie's daughters now reside in New Mexico and Colorado, respectively, and each has two sons who loved Kirt deeply.

Upon retirement from Naval service, Kirt and Dixie returned to Elkhorn and he worked alongside his father, learning from Vic's experience and applying his own business skills and engineering brilliance in the design of intricate rubber parts that broadened and grew the business substantially. During the next few years, Vic retired and handed the reigns of the company to his son. Until Kirt's own retirement more than 30 years later, he was not only CEO but also the master engineer who designed all the molds and processes required for the increasingly detailed and precise rubber parts for which A.K. Rubber gained worldwide recognition and respect.

Kirt's leadership, compassion, and sharp instincts established A.K. Rubber as the premier resource for custom parts for everything from critical micro-surgical tools to high-stress environments of underwater pressure in the guidance system of torpedoes. In countless situations he invented a part that could be utilized in the most unusual, demanding, and critical situations when others in the industry believed it could not be done.

Employing up to 100 personnel, his employees were exceptionally loyal, often dedicating their entire careers to A.K. Rubber. Kirt treated them with the same respect and compassion. He sold the company and retired in 2000 but continued to assist former employees through unexpected life challenges.

During the company's success and also after retirement, Kirt and Dixie have provided the means for many to have opportunities that they would not otherwise have been able to afford. Out of the limelight, many scholarships have been provided for educational growth and embarkation on successful careers. Musicians both, Kirt and Dixie gained lifelong benefits from music experiences in the Elkhorn schools and they have made substantial donations for the enrichment of music programs that have provided for technology and instruction to be made available to all Elkhorn students. Ongoing and generous support has been provided to theatrical endeavors, cultural programs, the American Red Cross and other charities, as well as to the First Congregational Church, where they have been members for 55 years and at which Kirt, like his father before, served as moderator. Both have been active in various leadership roles in the church throughout their adult lives.

Kirt also was instrumental in the formation, and served as charter president, of the Elkhorn Rotary Club in 1969. He enjoyed decades of uninterrupted service with the organization, serving as the chapter's president twice again and also as regional assistant governor.

Kirt was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Alan, who died in 1948 at the age of 26 months. Kirt is both mourned and celebrated by Dixie, Andrea, Laurie and Kirt's son-in-law Jason, brother Todd and his wife, Susan, of Saratoga Springs, Utah, his grandsons Solace and Leo Matesevac and Keshav and Vilas Roybal, and his and Dixie's many friends in Elkhorn and elsewhere. He left the world a better place, one that will continue to be enriched by his success and through his and Dixie's love and generosity.

A memorial celebration of Kirt's life will be announced at a later date.

Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Home and Crematory of Elkhorn is honored to serve the Fiegel family.