Herbert V. Kohler Jr., one of Wisconsin’s most iconic business leaders who led and transformed the Kohler Co., founded by his grandfather, into a global giant and developed golf courses in Sheboygan County that established the state as an internationally-known golf destination died Saturday in Kohler at the age of 83, the company announced today.
Born in 1939 in Chicago, Kohler was the son of Herbert V. Kohler Sr., who was the son of Kohler Co. founder John Michael Kohler, who established the business in 1873. Herbert V. Kohler Sr. was chairman and CEO of Kohler Co. from 1940 until his death in 1968.
While growing up, Herbert V. Kohler Jr. spent many summers as a laborer on the Kohler farms and in most of the manufacturing divisions of Kohler Co. He graduated from Yale in 1965.
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