Service Information

Service : Saturday, January 31st at 10:00 am
Service Location: Memorial Service
Shalom Memorial Funeral Home
1700 West Rand Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Memorial Visitation Saturday, 10 AM until time of the service 11 AM

Memorial donations may be made to
The Alzheimer’s Association
http://www.alz.org,
or
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
http://www.stjude.org.

Interment:
Randhill Park Cemetery
1700 W. Rand Road
Arlington Heights

Obituary

Kenneth Edward Brandt, 85, beloved husband and best friend of the late (d. 2023) Rita Mae for 58 wonderful years; loving father of Jeffrey (Anne), Scott (Dana) and Paul (Lydia) Brandt; cherished and beloved Grandpa of Madeline (Blake) Germain, Hannah Brandt, Zachary Alan Brandt, Jenna Belle Brandt, Michelle (Christian) Schlangen and Luis (Berenice) Roman; devoted son of the late Edward and Charlotte Brandt; dear brother of Robert (Joan) and Mary (the late David) Reinhart; treasured uncle and good friend of many. Ken was an active and competitive athlete his entire life. As a high school senior at St. Benedict (1958), he was a city all-star and led his team to victory at the Chicago Parish League Championship. True to form, he was also awarded in 1958 the statewide “Silver Knight Award” for Good Sportsmanship. Ken went on to play collegiate basketball at Loyola and Carthage but considered his many years playing on the legendary, “Dwarfs” Windy City 16″ softball team as his favorite. The friendships formed on those teams lasted his entire life and he never tired of retelling the stories of those glory-days. Ken led a successful career in sales and enjoyed his role as, “Commish” of the men’s basketball, softball and fantasy football leagues that he organized. He ushered at St. Joseph the Worker in Wheeling for 45 years. His chatty and easy-going manner made him a friend to everyone but his greatest ambition and success was as an involved father and devoted family man to Rita, his three sons and later his grandkids. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association www.alz.org, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital www.stjude.org. Memorial service Saturday, January 31, 2026 : 11 AM at Shalom Memorial Funeral Home, 1700 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights. Interment to follow at Randhill Park Cemetery. For the link to view the service and to leave condolences, www.shalommemorial.org or (847) 255-3520.

Guest Book & Memories

Share your memories and photographs below.

February 1st, 2026

So sorry to hear about Ken. Condolences on your loss. Good friends with your dad and Rita.

Cary and Claudia Katznelson

~Cary and Claudia Katznelson
~Friends,

January 31st, 2026

Rita and Kenny were lifelong friends of my mom, Betty Stein. For as long as I can remember, any family gathering included them. Kenny and Rita were like second parents to me, at least that’s how I felt. They cared so much. I’ll never meet anyone more kind than they were. How lucky we were to have them in our life. Dear Kenny. May you be at peace and with your Rita. We will love and miss you two, always.

~Allee Martell
~family friend, Arlington Heights, IL

January 31st, 2026

I am so very sad about the passing of Ken. He was a fun cousin. I have some very fond memories of him at family gatherings as children and adults.
My thoughts and prayers are with Ken’s family. Hold on to all the good and happy memories.

~Diana Kucera
~Cousin, Huntley, IL

January 31st, 2026

Our condolences to the family. I have fond memories of Christmas at his mom and dad house. He would take all of us to the movies with Mary Rose in charge.

~Tom Liebert
~Cousin, Hampshire,IL.

January 31st, 2026

I met Ken in September 1955 during lunch I went to see where the gym was and heard a basketball being bounced I opened the door
And Ken said do you want to shoot baskets?
We introduced ourselves and we were teammates on varsity. He played on the heavy’s and I played on the lights everyday at lunch we would shoot baskets in a game called
Horse. We have remained friends and teammates ever since that first day I met him.
May he rest in peace and be with his Rita
Jake and Sandy Gallagher

~Hugh Gallagher aka Jake
~Best friend, Park Ridge illinois

January 30th, 2026

My condolences for your loss. My prayers are with you. Thank you for your gifts of you during high school marching band.

~Cheryl Lentz
~Friend of Jeff, Grayslake, Illinois

January 29th, 2026

Brandt cousin reunion Nancy Brown

My last and memorable time was on June 9th 2019 when we had the Brandt cousin reunion. It was such a special time to visit with everyone and share past times.

~Nancy Brown
~Cousin, Debary, Florida

  • Photo By Nancy Brown : Brandt cousin reunion

Guest Book and Memories











There is a Maximum File Size for Photo uploads of 4M
File Types of jpg, png and gif are allowed.