Current:Home > StocksFormer US Sen. Herb Kohl remembered for his love of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bucks-InfoLens
Former US Sen. Herb Kohl remembered for his love of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bucks
View Date:2024-12-23 11:19:30
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former U.S. senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks Herb Kohl was remembered Friday for his love of both the city where he grew up and the state of Wisconsin at a memorial service attended by sports, political and business leaders.
Kohl, 88, died Dec. 27 after a brief illness.
Speakers, including former President Barack Obama’s strategist David Axelrod, joked that the spotlight-shunning Kohl had ordered up a snowstorm to dampen attendance at his own memorial held 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.”
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig spoke of his lifelong friendship with Kohl. The two met as 6-year-olds in grade school in Milwaukee and met weekly for lunch up until his death. Selig talked of 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.
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.
Kohl’s nephew, Dan Kohl, said his uncle had a knack for remembering not only the names of Kohl’s employees but their spouses and children as well. Over his 24 years as a senator, Kohl never boasted about his accomplishments, Dan Kohl said.
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.
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.
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.
Kohl served in the Senate from 1988 to 2012 and was succeeded by Baldwin.
veryGood! (8267)
Related
- 32-year-old Maryland woman dies after golf cart accident
- Hackers demand $6 million for files stolen from Seattle airport operator in cyberattack
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail again and will remain in jail until trial
- Maternal deaths surged in Texas in 2020, 2021
- Dave Coulier Says He's OK If This Is the End Amid Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Battle
- Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2025 nominees include Eli Manning, Marshawn Lynch
- 5 people perished on OceanGate's doomed Titan sub. Will we soon know why?
- Los Angeles area sees more dengue fever in people bitten by local mosquitoes
- Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
- Asteroid to orbit Earth as 'mini-moon' for nearly 2 months: When you can see it
Ranking
- Why Amanda Seyfried Traded Living in Hollywood for Life on a Farm in Upstate New York
- Tulane’s public health school secures major gift to expand
- Nearly 100-year-old lookout tower destroyed in California's Line Fire
- Kansas cult leaders forced children to work 16 hours a day: 'Heinous atrocities'
- Dramatic video shows Phoenix police rescue, pull man from car submerged in pool: Watch
- Houston officer shot responding to home invasion call; 3 arrested: Police
- California law cracking down on election deepfakes by AI to be tested
- People We Meet on Vacation Cast Revealed for Emily Henry Book's Movie Adaptation
Recommendation
-
2 dead in explosion at Kentucky factory that also damaged surrounding neighborhood
-
Bryce Young needs to escape Panthers to have any shot at reviving NFL career
-
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese change the WNBA’s landscape, and its future
-
Kansas cult leaders forced children to work 16 hours a day: 'Heinous atrocities'
-
The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
-
Officials identify 2 men killed in Idaho gas station explosion
-
Disney Store Sale Extravaganza: Unlock Magical 40% Off Deals Starting at $17.49
-
'The Golden Bachelorette' cast: Meet the 24 men looking to charm Joan Vassos