People

Ken Kohnhorst

Design Review Board Co-Chair Position 4

After graduation from High school and two years of College I went to work for John Hancock Financial Services. I stated working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and transferred to Chicago for a few months. Then I received my own office in Omaha, Nebraska and worked there for 5 years before Uncle Sam called and I enlisted in the USMC and served two years.

After service I stayed in the San Francisco Bay area with John Hancock. In 1982 I took a leave of absence and traveled for three months in Europe. Upon my return I met Charlotte and after three months we were married in San Jose. My office in San Jose was closed and I took severance after 26 years of service. About a year later I went back to work with Principal Financial Group and spent 6 years with them before taking an early retirement.

We had for several years spent our vacation time in Leavenworth. Since both Charlotte and I are German we felt this was a great place to retire, and living in a valley surrounded by mountains was an added bonus. We really do feel we are in Germany.

I designed our home (Bavarian style) and we had it built and moved there in the winter of 1995. One of my passions is traveling and Charlotte loves it as well. We have made several trips to Europe, Canada, and throughout the USA – and at last count have made over 25 trips to Germany…Bavaria in particular. I can trace my German roots back to 1149 and still have relatives in Germany. We also love Austria and have spent much time there as well. I am active in the community and belong to several clubs and groups. I served on the Design Review Board several years ago and am happy to be back. Our duty is to make sure we preserve the “Bavarian theme”.