Michael Dean “Mike” Kuehner 56 of St. Joseph Mo passed away April 16th at his home surrounded by loving family after a hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer. Born on December 12th 1969 to the late William A Kuehner and Betty E (Guy) Kuehner in St. Joseph Mo. He was a Christian.
Mike was a graduate of the class of 1988 at Benton High School. He helped with planning the class reunions. He also played in many Benton Basketball Alumni tournaments and played basketball at the YMCA.
When he was very young he found his passion for helping people by watching the TV shows Emergency and The Six Million Dollar Man. He knew he wanted a career as a Paramedic and while working at Kmart and then Walmart and going to school he realized his dream and became a Paramedic.
He worked for Buchanan County EMS for 26 years while also working in health services at Triumph Foods and Boehringer Ingelheim. He also loved working at Chiefs Training Camp for the past 15 years making connections with the staff and players.
Mike was a huge sports fan, his favorite teams are The Boston Celtics, San Francisco 49ers, KC Royals and KC Chiefs.
To know Mike was to love him. He was everyone’s best friend, always putting others before himself. He loved organizing trips to concerts and Las Vegas and made sure everyone had a good time. Mike has left a huge void in our lives that can never be filled. What a Nightmare!
Mike was preceded in death by his parents, sister Betty Peters and nephew Jason Peters.
He is survived by his sister Sandy (Rob) Duncan St. Joseph Mo brothers Victor (Jennifer) Kuehner, William A (Rickie) Kuehner Jr. of Bremerton WA and Patrick Kuehner Sr. His cats Harris and Hammy lovingly named after his EMS partners John Harris and Craig Hamm.
The nieces and nephews that he helped raise as his own and loved with all his heart Sean (Dawn) Peters, Jimmy (Megan) Fletcher, Matthew (Ryley) Hines, Amber Fletcher, Josh (Kayla) Thomas, Patrick (Patty) Kuehner , Jacee Thomas, Aunt Retta Keuhner, and many cousins, many more nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, great great niece and nephews.
Many life long friends and his EMS brothers and sisters.
Celebration of Life will be Friday, April 24, 2026 at 1:00 pm at the Buchanan County EMS Education Building Post #4, located at 1606 Commerce Avenue; St. Joseph, MO. Friends may gather one hour prior to the Celebration of Life beginning at 12:00 noon. Inurnment will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery.
