Walter J. Kohler Jr.

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Walter J. Kohler Jr.
Vernon Thomson
Personal details
Born	Walter Jodok Kohler Jr. (1904-04-04)April 4, 1904 Terry Jodok Kohler (b. 1934; died 2016) Charlotte Nicolette Kohler (b. 1936; died 2012)
Parents	Walter J. Kohler Sr. (father) Charlotte H. (Schroeder) Kohler (mother)
Alma mater	Yale University
Profession	Businessman
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Lt. Commander
Unit	USS Hancock (CV-19)
Battles/wars	World War II Pacific Theater
Awards	Bronze Star Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal

Walter Jodok Kohler Jr. (April 4, 1904 – March 21, 1976) was a member of the

, and daughter, Charlotte Nicolette Kohler.

Kohler's father,

.

Personal life

Walter Jodok Kohler Jr. was born on April 4, 1904, on his family's lavish estate in

in the late 19th century, and his father, Walter J. Kohler Sr. (1875–1940) was active in his family's plumbing supply business and served one term as the State's governor (1929–31). Walter Jr.'s mother was the former Henrietta "Lottie" Schroeder (1869–1947), and he had three brothers: John Michael Kohler III (1902–68), Carl James (1905–60), and Robert Eugene (1908–90).

Walter enjoyed many luxuries while growing up, but they were tempered by a strong-willed father who impressed his boys with the necessity of integrity, hard work, learning, good manners, frugality, and service to the community. Walter followed what was becoming a family tradition by graduating from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and Yale University.

In 1925, after college, Walter joined the Kohler Company. He knew much about the factory, having been employed there in a number of often grueling jobs during school breaks—another family tradition for males. In 1932, he married Chicago socialite Marie Celeste Holden (1900–74), a divorcée with a child. The couple had two children: Terry Jodok (1934–2016) and Charlotte Nicolette (1936–2012). In 1938, Walter and Celeste built a handsome estate, Windway, not far from the main plant; Walter lived there for the rest of his life. After World War II, he and Celeste divorced. In 1948 Walter married Charlotte McAleer (1912–95), a wealthy divorcée from Philadelphia.

In his last years, he and Charlotte traveled widely throughout the world and enjoyed long holidays in Antigua and Florida. He died in Sheboygan on March 21, 1976, following a heart attack. Obituaries emphasized Walter's character and integrity, noting his wartime service, his business success, and his three successive terms as governor.

Military service

In August 1942, Kohler joined the

, receiving the highest recommendations.

On April 7, 1945, the Hancock was hit by a Kamikaze plane that caused major damage. Walter quietly vowed that if he survived the war, he would go into public service to put an end to such violence and destruction. Soon afterward, exhausted by intense battle, he sought an honorable discharge. On September 24, he left the Navy. Now 41, Kohler had served 37 months of active duty. The Bronze Star Medal and the Asiatic theater ribbon with five battle stars were among his awards.

Business career

Walter discovered after the war that the entire Kohler Company was in the control of his uncle, Herbert V. Kohler. The industrialist told the veteran that he had no future in the company. Using inheritance funds and borrowed money, Walter made an effort to run the

, Walter's son, assumed the reins of the highly expanded and profitable corporation. He had worked full-time for the company since 1963.

Political career

Walter J. Kohler Jr. decided to move into politics in 1948 and he joined Team

, an ex-Marine who had run for the Senate two years earlier. Walter had little choice but to step aside.

In the late 1940s, Walter rose within the

.

Dewey's unpredictable loss to

, McCarthy and his allies were on the right track.

Governor of Wisconsin

In 1950, Walter was elected governor, winning 59 of 71 counties in what was a Republican sweep of state offices. Legislators, journalists, and the public soon praised his friendliness, hard-work, and integrity. During the next two years, Wisconsin prospered economically, had a budget surplus, and enjoyed tax cuts. Of 55 specific gubernatorial proposals for legislation, 47 were passed. The package included two civil rights measures, a hike in old age pensions, and improved unemployment and workmen's compensation benefits.

During his re-election bid in 1952, Kohler worked successfully for the nomination of moderate Dwight D. Eisenhower. When the candidate was about to campaign in Wisconsin, Kohler privately asked Eisenhower to alter a proposed Milwaukee speech that was critical of McCarthy. At the heart of the request was the desire to unify Republican Party and to carry Wisconsin at the polls. Eisenhower reluctantly agreed, and the strategy largely paid off. Republicans won the White House and control of Congress, McCarthy and Kohler (they officially supported each other) were reelected, and Republicans retained control of the state legislature.

Walter admitted to being offered various positions in Washington, D.C., including at least one on the White House staff during his second term as governor. He turned them all down largely because of the resistance of his wife to further political activity.^[3]

The Republican sweep intensified the commitment of local Democrats to gain power. Bill Proxmire, the man Kohler defeated handily, began to campaign the day after the election to win the governorship in 1954. Kohler defeated Proxmire again in 1954. At the conclusion of his third two-year term in 1956, he had built an impressive record that included advances in higher education, redistricting, highway construction, public welfare, conservation, and the criminal and children's law codes. During his terms in office, 89 of the governor's 92 vetoes were sustained by the Republican-dominated legislatures. State government under Walter's watch was efficient, clean, and fiscally responsible.

Senate campaign

In the meantime, Anti-McCarthy forces from the political center and left stepped up their nationwide efforts to bring down the Wisconsin Senator and end the Second Red Scare. In May 1957, Senator McCarthy died unexpectedly. A special election was called to fill the remaining years of his term and, for the third time in five years, Walter Kohler Jr. faced off against William Proxmire in a Wisconsin statewide election.

Kohler and Proxmire campaigned diligently for the vacant Senate seat. The McCarthyite wing of the GOP in large part turned against Walter (as it had against Eisenhower), and this lack of support, accompanied by Proxmire's populist rhetoric and financial support from labor unions, prompted a dramatic upset win for the tireless Democrat. Proxmire would represent Wisconsin in the United States Senate for the next 32 years.

Later years and death

Kohler played a role in the 1960 Republican National Convention, but he then saw himself primarily as a businessman and fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

Walter's health declined in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He had

He is buried in Kohler's Woodland Cemetery.

Notes

References

• 1960 Wisconsin Blue Book
• 2003–2004 Wisconsin Blue Book
• 2006 Distinguished Service: The Life of Gov. Walter J. Kohler Jr. by Thomas C. Reeves
• Haney, Richard, C., A Concise History of the Modern Republican Party of Wisconsin (The Republican Party of Wisconsin (The Republican Party of Wisconsin, 1976)
• Reeves, Thomas C., The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy, a Biography (Stein and Day, 1982)
• Sykes, Jay G., Proxmire (Robert B. Luce, 1972)

Party political offices
Preceded by Oscar Rennebohm	Republican nominee for Governor of Wisconsin 1950, 1952, 1954	Succeeded by Vernon Wallace Thomson
Preceded by Joseph McCarthy	1957	Succeeded by Roland J. Steinle
Political offices
Preceded by Oscar Rennebohm	Governor of Wisconsin 1951–1957	Succeeded by Vernon Wallace Thomson