Kevin Lee Wang, 59

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn the sudden loss of our husband, father, brother, uncle, friend and dog dad, Kevin Lee Wang, on Jan. 20, 2022, in Spokane, Wash.

Kevin was born to Leonard Wang and Mary Wang (Dorch) on Nov. 14, 1962, in Rapid City, S.D. Kevin eventually landed in North Idaho when his family moved to Post Falls. Early in his teen years, Kevin figured out the secret to working hard, and playing harder, as his first (and probably favorite) job involved early mornings of riding his dirt bike across the beautiful Post Falls prairie, with his little brother Paul, moving irrigation pipes to water the fields. When he wasn’t working, Kevin, AKA Little Hulk, was most likely pinning an unsuspecting soul on the wrestling mat at Post Falls High School, and even went undefeated for a season or two.

A short while after graduating from PFHS in 1981, Kevin moved to the Bemiss area in Spokane, where he began work at Pacific Steel and Recycling. After working there for 20 years, he was fortunate enough to end up calling many of his coworkers roommates, golf buddies and lifelong friends.

Kevin also began another very important job during this time as his son, Chadd, was born. Kevin passed on his love for wrestling to Chadd, and even volunteered with the wrestling team at Shaw Middle School. Kevin was often referred to as a second dad to the kids in the neighborhood, a role in which he took great pride. When he wasn’t outside playing HORSE with the kids or taking block-wide water balloon fights up to the next level, he had Otter Pops ready by the case to hand out to the masses.

In 1997, Kevin met Antonia Reyes (Toni), and they married in 2003. In the process, he gained a daughter, Sarah, and Sarah truly didn’t think that people could get any cooler than Kevin. They all loved many activities together, with road trips to wherever the wind took them, boat camping, family vacations and making pit stops at casinos along the way.

In 2004, Kevin began his journey with our Lord, and started attending Hillyard Baptist Church (HBC). He was very active in all aspects of the missions of the church. He kept the floors clean with the “Big Machine,” he blessed each person with his Call to Worship on Sunday mornings, and he even drove the church van to pick up those who had difficulties getting to the services. He frequently shared how special Sunday mornings were to him, getting to be with his church family. One of Kevin’s annual church highlights was getting to participate in the infamous HBC Chili Cook-off. He often took the coveted first place spot, with the exception of the year that he was beaten by none other than his beautiful wife, Toni. We don’t talk about that year …

As the proudest of proud Coug dads, Kevin would often cheer on the Cougs from home, or make the trip to Pullman to attend WSU football games and events (Dad’s Weekend 2012 will forever live in Reyes-Wang infamy). Kevin was also an avid golfer, and always looked forward to his time on the green with his brother and golf crew, forever chasing that much sought-after hole-in-one. When Kevin wasn’t off on an adventure or at church, he was recognized in his household as the lawn enforcement officer, the cherry tomato whisperer and the overall fixer upper of anything that needed fixing up. He also loved cooking, and on any given Saturday morning, following Family Workday at HBC, Kevin was eager to learn new recipes from his usual lineup of PBS cooking shows, and putting those skills to use in the kitchen, with a specialty in omelets.

Kevin was always helping others, and that came in many forms — plowing snow for the neighbors, installing ceilings for friends, serving concessions at Rogers High School sporting events, building stairs for his dachshund, Joey, to make it easier for him to climb on his favorite recliner, making French toast for the congregation on Easter morning or supplying produce from his annual garden. Tomatoes and zucchini were a crowd pleaser among the neighbors.

Throughout Kevin’s career, his job took him to literal new heights as he found himself in roles including installing ceilings for Spokane Acoustics, roofing with J.U. Contracting, and at the time of his passing, Kevin’s job brought him back to his old stomping grounds of North Idaho, where he was hitting the streets as a sanitation engineer for Coeur d'Alene Garbage.

Kevin is survived by his wife, Toni, son Chadd Wang, daughter Sarah Reyes, sisters Mary Alice Wang, Rae Carnahan (Steve), and Verla Lageschulte, and brothers Paul Wang and Kelly Wang, previous wife Laura Carter, a godson, numerous nieces and nephews, as well as two Pomeranians, Goldie and Tiny, and Joey the dachshund. He is preceded in death by his parents, and younger brother Brian Wang.

Although he will be missed terribly, we are grateful that he is now at peace. Memorials can be made to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Spokane, Hillyard Baptist Church, or the memorial of your choice.

A viewing and visitation will take place on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Hennessey Funeral Home on Division Street, in Spokane, Wash. Kevin will be laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Post Falls, Idaho, at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, and a celebration of life for Kevin will be held at Hillyard Baptist in Spokane on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at 11 a.m. Please visit hennesseyfuneralhomes.com to leave your condolences on Kevin’s online guestbook.