The Knoxville community will gather Thursday to celebrate the life of a longtime educator known for being an outstanding teacher in classroom and on the athletic fields.
Mike Kemmer — who spent 35 years at Knoxville High School from 1980 to 2015 teaching math, serving as principal in his final four years, and serving as Blue Bullets baseball head coach and an assistant football coach — died June 17 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 69.
A public Celebration of Life for Richard “Mike” Kemmer is set for 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium of Knoxville High School. Doors open at 6 p.m.
The event is titled A Celebration of Community: Faith, Family, Education and Baseball. Among the speakers Thursday will be Kemmer’s son Kris, educator Jodi Hise, baseball coach Ron Nelson and former Major League pitcher Craig Stammen.
Kemmer’s 1982-83 Blue Bullets baseball team went 20-2 and reached the Class A state quarterfinals.
Kris Kemmer, along with a couple of Mike Kemmer’s former players — John and Erik Hughs — joined WGIL’s Jay Redfern to reflect on the career of the longtime Knoxville teacher and coach.
John Hughs said, “One of the reasons I went into education was definitely Mike Kemmer. He was just an outstanding teacher. He mentored me as a student, as a baseball player and later when I was a teacher and coach at Knoxville.
“He was one of the most decent and noble human beings I’ve ever known. He just did things the right way. I still kind of go by the credo he taught me at Knoxville, and that was as long as you’re making decisions that are in the best interest of the kids, then you’re in the right business.
“He was just an instrumental part of my life.”
Kemmer was inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003 and into the newly-formed Knoxville High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023. Off the athletic field, he was revered in the classroom as an elite math teacher and a mentor to students.
“My father just had the ability to always live up to a high standard in all aspects of his life,” Kris Kemmer said. “He was kind and humble, but when it came time to work, people got line and followed him. He didn’t have to yell. Swear words were not allowed.”
Erik Hughs recalled Mike Kemmer serving as his coach, “all the way from grade school through high school, and he was always such a great person. He was always positive — I never saw him be negative toward anybody.
“Then, I was fortunate that my first four years of being a teacher at Knoxville, Mr. Kemmer was my principal. He gave me a lot of support and advice on classroom management and how to deal with kids.”
Mike Kemmer is survived by his wife, Lisa; his children, Kirsten Burrow (Jeff Geltz) of Washington, Kris (Emily) Kemmer of Johnston, Iowa, and Kassidy (Darren) Cherrington of Davis Junction. Also surviving are his eight grandchildren.
