MILWAUKEE — A public memorial for the late U.S. Senator Herb Kohl is set for Jan. 12 at Fiserv Forum, the Milwaukee Bucks arena, the NBA team he formerly owned, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
The service is open to the public and scheduled to begin at noon. Guests can enter through the main atrium that faces the arena's public plaza. Details of the service are not yet available, including speakers, BizJournal reports.
Kohl died on Dec. 27, 2023, at the age of 88 following a brief illness.
Kohl, who grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood in Milwaukee, leaves behind a legacy filled with milestones as a former U.S. senator, Milwaukee Bucks owner, and founder of the Kohl's department stores chain.
According to the Herb Kohl Foundation, Kohl graduated from the University of Wisconsin, earned an MBA from Harvard, and joined the Army Reserve. Alongside his brothers, he built a chain of over 50 Kohl's grocery stores across the Midwest. His family opened the first Kohl's department store in 1962. By 1970, he became president of the Kohl's Corporation. The foundation says Kohl would often say: “Our employees were extensions of our family.”
The foundation shared that when the Milwaukee Bucks were up for sale and were possibly going to be bought and moved to a different city, Kohl bought the team in 1985 and promised fans they would never leave. The foundation said, "When the time came to sell the team, he fulfilled that promise and donated $100 million to help in building a new arena for the community."
Kohl was known to take a personal interest in the lives of the Bucks players. The foundation stated, "When, for example, the Bucks drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family remained in Greece unable to join their son and brother in the United States, Herb worked tirelessly and successfully to reunite them in America. The Antetokounmpos were his family."
In 1988, he ran for the United States Senate with the commitment statement, "Nobody's Senator but yours." He served 24 years in the Senate. Following his retirement, he continued philanthropic work through the Herb Kohl Foundation, which he started in 1990. The foundation has provided more than $34 million in grants and scholarships to Wisconsin students, teachers, and schools.
“Throughout his life, Herb Kohl always put people first... from his employees and their families to his customers and countless charitable organizations and efforts.” Joanne Anton, Director of Giving for Herb Kohl Philanthropies recalled. “Herb Kohl Way isn’t just the name of a street in front of the Fiserv Forum. The Herb Kohl Way perfectly sums up a legacy of humility, commitment, compromise, and kindness to countless people he worked with, served, and helped along the way. Those values will live on through his Foundation.”
Growing up in Milwaukee, Kohl met many friends he shared a lifetime with, including Bud Selig, Steve Marcus, and Frank Gimbel.
The foundation shared in its statement, "More than anything, Herb loved Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and that is where he chose to live out his days. He touched an incalculable number of lives, and those who love him would remark that he is among the most decent people to ever walk the earth. Herb’s loss will be felt acutely, and he can best be honored by doing good works."
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