MILWAUKEE — Hundreds of Wisconsinites said their final goodbyes to the late Herb Kohl, as Fiserv Forum hosted a public memorial service Friday afternoon.
Herb Kohl, 88, died Dec. 27 after a brief illness.
Winter weather didn’t stop people from coming together in person to celebrate the life of the longtime Wisconsin businessman, entrepreneur and United States senator.
Speakers, including former President Barack Obama's strategist David Axelrod, joked that the spotlight-shunning Herb Kohl had ordered up a snowstorm to dampen attendance at his own memorial at the Fiserv Forum where the Bucks play.
“I’m not here to mourn Herb,” Axelrod said. “I am here to celebrate this extraordinary life and to say how grateful I am that he was part of my life.”
Nearly 500 people also attended Friday's public memorial service online to pay their respects.
A handful of other people got the chance to speak and honor Herb Kohl inside the arena, including Bud Selig, Dan Kohl, Chuck Pruitt and Joanne Anton.
Other attendees included U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet, state Rep. Greta Neubauer, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Herb Kohl was remembered Friday for his love of both the city where he grew up and the state of Wisconsin.
Herb Kohl’s nephew Dan Kohl spoke of his uncle's accomplishments and the ways his family and many others will remember him.
Herb Kohl's greatest legacy will be the scholarships he gave to teachers and children across the state, which were just some of his numerous philanthropic efforts, Dan Kohl said.
“The Herb Kohl way was always about staying humble and down to gather,” Dan Kohl said. “The Herb Kohl way is always about staying generous and kind. The Herb Kohl way was about living a life full of good deeds and service. The Herb Kohl way was about being the uptime champion for the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin.”
Dan Kohl said his uncle had a knack for remembering not only the names of his employees but their spouses and children as well. Over his 24 years as a senator, Herb Kohl never boasted about his accomplishments, Dan Kohl said. Herb Kohl served in the Senate from 1988 to 2012 and was succeeded by Baldwin.
Herb Kohl never married or had kids, but Dan Kohl said that dozens of his relatives from across the country and from Canada and Israel came to Milwaukee for the memorial.
Selig, Herb Kohl's long-time fraternity brother and roommate, shared many memories from their eight decades of friendship.
Selig, former Major League Baseball commissioner, said the two met as 6-year-olds in grade school in Milwaukee and met weekly for lunch up until his death. Selig talked of Herb Kohl's devotion to Milwaukee, most famously demonstrated by his purchase of the Bucks franchise in 1985 to keep it from leaving the city.
“His only goal was to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee and he sacrificed willingly to do so," Selig said.
Herb Kohl sold the Bucks in 2014 and contributed $100 million toward construction of Fiserv Forum. In 2018, the Bucks won their first NBA title since 1971.
“His loyalty and devotion to Milwaukee and Wisconsin, basketball and all the people that are here today who worked for him was incredible,” Selig said. “Really unusual in this day and age.”
For many, this memorial was the opportunity to say a final goodbye and honor a man whose legacy continues to live on, and will for many years to come.