The man who took his grandfather’s plumbing manufacturing company and grew it into a global, diverse family of businesses, Herbert Vollrath Kohler, Jr., died on Saturday in Kohler – the village that bears his family’s name – at age 83.
Kohler, described in the release announcing his passing as “an incomparable spirit”, was born in Chicago on February 20, 1939. His father Herbert V. Kohler, Sr., son of Kohler Company founder John Michael Kohler, served as Board Chairman and CEO of Kohler Company from 1940 until his death in 1968. His mother, Ruth De Young Kohler, was a historian and former women’s editor of the Chicago Tribune.
Herb spent his school years growing up in Kohler as well as at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. He spent many summers working on the Kohler farms and in mosts of the manufacturing divisions of Kohler Company. He served with the U.S. Army Reserve, studied at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and launched a brief acting career at Knox College in Illinois. He completed his education earning a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial administration from Yale University in 1965.
Herbert Kohler’s impact on his family’s company began in the 1960s. He became a Director of the company in 1967 ands took the title of Vice President of Operations upon the death of his father in 1968. He was named Executive Vice President in 1971, was elected Chairman of the Board and CEO in 1972, and President of the company in 1974 at age 35. In 2015, he became the company’s Executive Chairman, with son David as President and CEO.
Kohler created the brand “THE BOLD LOOK OF KOHLER” in 1967, and expanded the company into a world leader with more than 40,000 associates and dozens of manufacturing facilities on six continents. He was inducted in the the National Kitchen and Bath Hall of Fame in its founding year of 1989, followed by the National Housing Hall of Fame in 1993. Ernst & Young named him National Entrepreneur of the Year in Manufacturing in 2002, and Junior Achievement inducted him into its U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2006.
Perhaps Herb Kohler’s most daring move was to take the former worker’s dormitory across the street from the factory, transforming it into the Midwest’s only AAA Five Diamond Resort Hotel, The American Club. Building upon his hospitality venture, Destination Kohler was formed and today includes the 500-acre wilderness preserve River Wildlife; a second hotel – “Inn on Woodlake”; the Kohler Waters Spa; multiple casual and fine dining restaurants and pubs; Sports Core health and racquet club; Yoga on the Lake; Bold Cycle; Riverbend private membership club; Kohler Original Recipe Chocolates;l the Kohler Design Center and many other home furnishing and specialty shops. Destination Kohler then led to the Hospitality & Real Estate Group, while another hotel – LODGE KOHLER – opened five years ago as the anchor property within the Green Bay Packers’ Titletown entertainment destination.
Golf, though, would likely be what Kohler became best known for beyond the plumbing manufacturing that served as the foundation for all. He first created Blackwolf Run in 1988, creating a lasting friendship with course designer Pete Dye. Whistling Straits joined the Kohler golf destinations in 1999. Kohler then acquired a hotel alongside the legendary Old Course in the birthplace of the sport, St. Andrews, Scotland, and transformed it into the Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa, adding “The Duke’s – a heathland golf course – outside of town. He debuted the 10-hole, par-3 Baths of Blackwolf Run golf course in 2021, and plans are still in the works to add another course on a mile-long stretch of company-owned property on the Lake Michigan shore adjacent to the State Park that also bears the family name, Kohler-Andrae.
A common thread throughout Kohler’s legacy is the quality embodied in all ventures. Kohler was said to “live and breath” Kohler Company’s mission of providing customers with gracious living each day. His family said “His zest for life, adventure and impact inspires all of us. We traveled together, celebrated together, and worked together. He was all in, all the time, leaving an indelible mark on how we live our lives today and carry on his legacy.”
Herb Kohler is survived by his wife, Natalie; two daughters, Laura Kohler (Steve Proudman), and Rachel Kohler (Mark Hoplamazian); and one son, David Kohler (Nina). He is further survived by 10 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren, Ophelia, Herbert, and Uma Cartwright. The family plans to host a private service, and Kohler Company will host a tribute to Herb Kohler for associates past and present at a date still to be determined.
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