Remembering Herb Kohl; former senator leaves legacy of kindness

MADISON, Wis. - From the White House to Wisconsin main streets, the nation and the state honor the life of Herb Kohl.

Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday, Dec. 28 ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff until the date of interment for former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl.

Kohl died at the age of 88 following a brief illness, the Herb Kohl Foundation announced on Wednesday. 

President Joe Biden put out a statement honoring the life of his former senate colleague.

"Herb Kohl was one of the finest people I’ve served with – a kind and principled man of integrity and character, one of Wisconsin’s greatest-ever advocates, and a dear friend."

Strangers Kohl met on the street, servers at diners he would visit every day, and an old college friend describe a legacy of kindness. 

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"He was a man who really could be listed as definitional to the word ‘humility’; he had humility," said Frank Gimbel, a lifelong friend of Herb Kohl and his UW-Madison fraternity brother.

"Herb was a person who never had any airs about him. He was a very simple person. I don't say that as a denigration, because he was a graduate of Harvard after he graduated from the University Wisconsin and yet, he would, if you will, interact and mingle with his employees as equals," Gimbel said. "Herb had a sense of humility, and where he achieved great wealth throughout his business career, and he achieved great recognition and notoriety as the United States Senator, and while he achieved great patriotic loyalty as a person who kept the professional sports team in Milwaukee, none of those things really would be something that would define him. He was hard to define, because he acted on what I believe to be a heartfelt instinct that he loved the life."

Kohl is also being remembered at Ma Fischer's Restaurant on Milwaukee's East Side.

"He was respectful and pretty humble and quiet to himself usually," said Joseph Klosowski, Ma Fischer's manager.

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Kohl would sit in one particular chair almost every day before the pandemic– sometimes as early as 4 a.m. He would read his newspaper, order coffee and frequently a chopped salad and French dressing, maybe French toast – and it would always end with vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, Klosowski reflected.

The kindness extended to strangers. Kimberly Kane was in Milwaukee for a job interview to be a TV news reporter. She was scoping out the city beforehand.

"This gentleman walked up to me with a purple Milwaukee Bucks cap on. And he walked right up to me and he said, 'Hi, I’m U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, you look lost.' And I was. I was wandering around and didn’t exactly know where I was going," said Kane, who now runs Kane Communications Group.

During that chance encounter, Kohl invited Kane to coffee and lunch at Café at the Pfister, where Kohl was also a regular. The restaurant still offers the "Senator's Tuna Sandwich," which is named after him.

At the hotel's cafe, Kane and Kohl chatted as they read the newspaper, an unexpected preparation for the job she ended up landing.

"You would never know that he was a senator. You would never know that he owned a sports team. He was a good person every day who cared about everyone. And I think if a person of his stature can live a life of such great contributions to the community, I think it’s a lesson for all of us. We can all do that," Kane said. 

Kohl's family name lives on in the department stores he co-founded. There are now more than 1,100 Kohl's stores across the country. Herb Kohl bought the Milwaukee Bucks in 1985 to keep them in the city. He then ran for U.S. Senate in 1988 and served there for 24 years. Even after his retirement from office, he continued donating to the city he always called home, a city that now honors his life.

"More than anything, Herb loved Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and that is where he chose to live out his days," Kohl's foundation said in a statement. "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."

Milwaukee tribute

The Milwaukee County Historical Society (MCHS) announced on Thursday, Dec. 28 it is paying homage to Kohl by placing the letters of his name in the windows of its downtown Historical Center facing Kilbourn Avenue. The letters will be lit up through Dec. 30. 

The letters are the original historic City Hall letters used as part of its message system for more than eight decades. 

Services for Kohl are set to occur at a future date in January, the governor's office announced.