Wilhelm E. Kohlhoff

Wilhelm Ernst Kohlhoff, age 92, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 10, 2019. He was born on February 28, 1927 to the late Wilhelm and Emma (Neubauer) Kohlhoff in Pommern, Germany. On January 31, 1948 he was married to Wally Christel Kohlhoff who preceded him in death on March 6th, 2019. Wilhelm and Wally emigrated to the U.S. in 1951 with two children and lived in New London until 1953 when they moved to Oshkosh. Until 1967 he was the lead brewer working for Peoples Brewing Company in Oshkosh. His career and experiences at Peoples Brewery are chronicled by local Oshkosh author and expert on Winnebago County breweries, Lee Reiherzer in a two part story that can be read at Oshkosh Beer Blog on line. In 1968 Wilhelm accepted a position as a cabinet maker at Buckstaffs. Wilhelm learned the trade from his father who was a Master Wood Craftsman in Germany. Wilhelm was especially fond of recalling how he was asked to set up the new machinery coming in at Buckstaffs from Germany because he could translate the instructions. In 1978 he moved to Tucson and was hired by the University of Arizona-Tucson as a supervising cabinet maker. Ten years later Wilhelm returned to Oshkosh for retirement. Wilhelm’s hobbies included woodworking and gardening. Wilhelm traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe. Wilhelm was proud that he was a lifelong member of Grace Lutheran Church in Oshkosh.

Wilhelm is survived by his daughters: Marlene (Mike) Tessier, Marianne (Paul) Miller, Margaret (Jim) Meyer; son, Hans-Peter (Cynthia) Kohlhoff; grandchildren: Melissa, Meredith (Todd Trainor) and Peter (Lynn); great-grandchildren: Landon, Madison, Wilhelm and Annika. He is further survived by his family in Germany including sister-in-law, Edith Korber and her children Susanne and Ralf; cousin, Ingrid and Detlauf, and friends including Ed Swartz. In addition to his parents, Wilhelm was preceded in death by two brothers and two sisters.

A funeral service will be held at Grace Lutheran Church on 9th and Nebraska on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Interment to take place in Peace Lutheran Cemetery. The family would like to thank the staff and nurses at Aurora Medical Center and Aurora Hospice and Palliative Services for their love, support and compassionate care for Wilhelm; especially Dr Soni, Jennifer from Palliative services, Elizabeth from Hospice, nurses Sarah, Eric, Karli, Cynthia, the respiratory staff, chaplains and many others.