April 17, 2017 – Kewaskum, WI – Neighbors in the Village of Kewaskum are mourning the loss of former Kewaskum High School band teacher and community leader Larry Ammel.
“He was a pillar of the community,” said Jeanne Goeden. “He was the one who organized Music in the Park and people really like that.”
Ammel had retired from the Kewaskum School District years ago but while there he was active in many of the musicals including Fiddler on the Roof. “He was a very beloved teacher,” Goeden said.
Ammel was also extremely active in Kewaskum Kiwanis, he was the choir director at Peace UCC in Kewaskum and he was involved in the upcoming memorial dedication for Andrea Haberman.
“He used to do beginning band camp at Slinger Middle School,” said West Bend High School Band Director Leah Duckert. “He taught me a lot; he taught me beginning trombone.”
Duckert recalled Ammel’s humor during Friday band camp.
“Trombones are derived from an instrument called a sackbut and Larry brought in these brown paper bags and each kid taped a paper bag to their butt and so then they were all sackbuts. It was hysterical,” she said.
Duckert described Ammel as “jolly.” “He was the type of guy you wanted to hug every time you saw him,” she said.
Kewaskum Police Chief Tom Bishop said Ammel really gave back to the community. “He will definitely be missed,” said Bishop. “He was a heck of a good guy.”
Services for Larry Ammel are pending. Larry Ammel was 73.
Photo courtesy UCC Church
Oh no! Such a wonderful man! Larry has done so much for our kids and our community. He will be greatly missed.
I’m sad to hear this news. His name came up in a recent conversation I had with two of his former fellow teaching colleagues. Larry was my band director when I was a KHS student and just a fledgling musician; that was over 40 years ago. I vividly remember the very chilly autumn morning marching he put us through while playing “On Wisconsin” and copious John Phillip Sousa numbers. But what I remember most about the man himself is he was just a very nice guy. Someone who was hard not to like. My condolences to his family and loved ones.
Enjoyed doing barbershop and other songs with Larry and friends for the women’s club and other events in Kewaskum – I know he touched the lives of many as band director and community leader of the mens’ choir, big band, and other musical groups – I will cherish my experiences working with Larry – he was a wonderful, talented, gentle man who touched the lives of so many students over the years… My sympathy to family, friends, and all the students whose lives he touched.