Michael B. Krueger

Mike Krueger lived a life of influence, with a passion for what mattered most: deep and enduring relationships. Mike’s legacy is experienced by hundreds of people, maybe thousands, who felt more understood, respected and loved because their lives intersected with Mike’s.

Beginnings

Lee and Millie Krueger welcomed Mike to their family on April 11,1953, the second child of four and the only boy.   The family soon moved from Watertown to Madison, where in his early years Mike played Little League Baseball and became an Eagle Scout.  He attended Glen Stevens, Orchard Ridge, and graduated from Memorial High School in 1971. 

Golf

Mike soon discovered an extraordinary gift in golf, which became a lifelong pursuit.  What started with hardware store hickory shaft golf clubs led to four years of varsity golf in high school and a full University of Wisconsin-Madison scholarship, where he lettered four years and was team captain.  

Starting as a lowly ball picker on the driving range, Mike learned all he could from mentor George Vitense and Pro Bill Furnari. Mike hit countless buckets of balls after work and perfected his game on public golf courses.  In 1970 he won the Madison Junior City Tournament, where the last round was at Blackhawk CC.  Mike met Lynne when she and her dad came into Vitense Golfland. As a member at Blackhawk, Lynne’s dad grilled Mike about how he played every hole in the tournament. He invited Mike to play at Blackhawk the next weekend and a new chapter in Mike's story began with Lynne in his life. Mike always recognized how his golf skills played a major role in his life, fostering relationships in business and as a platform for meaningful time with friends and family. 

Professional years

Graduating with a degree in Business and Marketing, Mike became a sales representative at Oscar Mayer, growing into 17 different jobs over 33 years with Oscar Mayer, General Foods, and Kraft.   Promotions led to moves to new parts of the country – Syracuse, Washington DC, Honolulu, Kansas City, back to Madison, and finally to Chicago. In 1989, the company sponsored Mike’s graduate studies at Harvard Business School’s Executive Management program, which led to further promotions.  

The Family

Family was his top priority, investing his time and energy into those who meant the most to him.   Spending as much time as possible with Lynne and their two sons and their wives and families was always at the top of the list and it brought Mike great joy!   Equally important was time with his sisters and their spouses and children. He loved pouring into the next generation of the family.  He enjoyed sharing his love of golf and fishing. Canadian Fishing trips became life changing, bringing deeper and lasting relationships with family and special friends.

Mike’s Story of Grace

Mike grew up in a family with deep faith in God. At an early age, Mike made a decision to follow Jesus and accepted Him as his Savior. His faith became even more real to him when in his late 20’s he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease while living in Hawaii. This began a lifelong courageous health journey.  Mike knew he had been given his life back, and that knowledge changed the trajectory and focus of his life. His faith became a priority, as was sharing that faith with others. He began to intentionally invest in people, welcoming opportunities to be a mentor and advisor. He enjoyed a rewarding business career, but by his mid 50’s he came to realize that driving shareholder wealth was not where he wanted to put all his energy and time. 

At 56, Mike learned he would need open heart surgery to repair damage caused by his cancer treatments in his 20’s.   God graciously provided care and a complete recovery from the surgery and, once again, Mike was given his life back. He became more motivated to share his faith and invest in people, using the skills he had honed as a business leader.  He focused his energy on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, seeing opportunities at the intersection of faith and sports.  He started serving locally in 2012, eventually becoming the Southern WI Board Chair.

In January of 2022 Mike experienced another health challenge when he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a treatable but incurable cancer.  Weekly treatments soon brought him to remission, but disease returned in late 2023.   In God’s perfect plan, He called Mike to his heavenly home on March 29, 2024. 

Legacy

“I have glorified God on earth by completing the work He gave me to do.” (John 17:4)

What Mike most desired was to be defined by his deep faith in God the Creator.  He knew his whole life that Christ’s victory on the cross secured his future in heaven.  He strove to glorify God by always doing his best – whether on the golf course, in sales contests, or investing his time in others.  Mike maintained a positive attitude of thanksgiving, living gratefully in the present, which helped him to persevere through the trials of life. He continually proclaimed that “God is Good.” 

Mike’s passion for what mattered most was inspired by one of his favorite verses: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33   

Mike is survived by Lynne, his wife of 48 years, his son, Jason (Kendrick) and grandchildren Eli and Ava Krueger, son Matthew (Pamela) and granddaughter Ada Krueger.  He is also survived by sisters Sandy (Dave) Jackman of Portland, OR, Julie (John) Matthews of Hartland WI, Kathy (Dave) Hall of Westfield IN. and many nieces, and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Winston Lee Krueger in 1986, and Mildred B. Krueger in 2020.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Door Creek Church, 6602 Dominion Drive, Madison WI on Saturday June 22, at 1:00 pm. A reception will be held immediately following the service to visit with family & friends. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or to a charity of your choosing. Gifts for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes can be made here.  Please dedicate your donation to Mike Krueger.