[1][2] His final assignment before his October 1990 retirement was as deputy commander of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Their son John also served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and retired as a major general.

[3][5][6] Kem and his wife settled in Arlington County, Virginia, after his retirement from active duty in 1990.

After her death in 2003, his wife was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on June 12, 2003.

Kem remarried with Adelaide Mary Brown in 2004 and gained two stepdaughters.