Denis Michael Kluba

Denis Michael Kluba, age 80, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at home under the loving care of his family and Corewell Health Hospice in Michigan. The son of Paul Marcelinius & Mary Virginia (Mruzik) Kluba, he was born on April 17, 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Denis was drafted into the United States Army in 1970 and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He married Karen Sue Ford on October 3, 1969 and together they raised two wonderful daughters.

Early in their marriage, Denis and Karen lived in Italy during his military service, and later in life moved to Ireland and then England. Throughout his life he loved to travel with both family, friends and for work. His career in pharmaceuticals took him to China, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Portugal, and Germany, to name a few. In 2019, Denis and Karen celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on a trip to Greece with their good friends Martin and Mary Farrell.

Known for his sometimes odd, but always infectious sense of humor, he loved entertaining his family at every opportunity. (Do you know how many ribs you have?)

A lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, Denis watched or listened to nearly every one of their games for most of his life. Even when they lost to the Mets. Often if you were around him you would hear, “Take me Out to the Ballgame,” playing on his phone when a game was about to start.

Denis is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Paul J Kluba and his oldest daughter, Rachel Lynn-Kluba Gibbs. He is survived by his wife, Karen, Rachel’s husband Luke and their two children Dylan and Jake, his younger daughter Corri Elaine-Kluba Sandwick, her husband Chris and their two children, Henry and Hazel. Denis was a loving brother to Paul J Kluba (Beverly), Terry Ramsbottom (Nile), Joanne Kluba and Jan Hawn (Jim).

A celebration of life will be planned and announced later. In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to Corewell Health Foundation (https://corewellhealth.org/foundation/west) or Tunnels to Towers (https://t2t.org/).

To send a message of sympathy to the family, sign Denis’s online guest book, or to share a favorite memory, please visit: www.MichiganCremation.com

Arrangements are entrusted to Christiansen’s Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, Greenville, 616-754-5638