Walter Jodok Kohler Jr., Republican governor of Wisconsin from 1951 to 1957, was the son of Wisconsin businessman Walter J. Kohler Sr. who also served as governor of Wisconsin for one term during the 1920s. Born on April 4, 1904 in Sheboygan, the younger Kohler at first seemed destined to follow his father's career in business rather than his career in politics. After attending public schools in Sheboygan and Phillips Academy he graduated from Yale University in 1925. In addition to his academic training Kohler had begun to prepare for his business career by working during his summer vacations as a laborer in the Kohler Company factory at Kohler, Wisconsin. After graduation from college he resumed his employment there, doing engineering work for two years and then ceramic research for two more years. He subsequently engaged in sales promotion and merchandising. In 1932 Kohler was placed in charge of heating equipment sales. In 1936 he was elected a director of the company and in 1937 he became secretary.
The day after Pearl Harbor Kohler volunteered for military service, and he was commissioned a lieutenant in the naval reserve in April, 1942. After being called to active duty Kohler served as a naval intelligence officer in the Pacific Theater and he participated in many missions that rescued crews downed behind enemy lines. In October 1944 Kohler was promoted to lieutenant commander.
After his return to Wisconsin in 1945 Kohler severed his relations with the Kohler Company and became president of the Vollrath Company of Sheboygan, a manufacturer of stainless steel equipment. Thereafter Kohler also became prominent in various public service activities. He later stated that it was his service in World War II, particularly the experience of escaping unscathed from a kamikaze attack on the U.S.S. Hancock, that was instrumental in shaping his determination to turn to public service. During the post-war period he was very active in civic organizations such as the American Cancer Society, of which he was state and national chairman, and the Boy Scouts of America.
Much the same motivation prompted Kohler's involvement in electoral politics. His first appearance came in 1948 when he led the slate of Wisconsin candidates pledged to support Harold Stassen at the national Republican Party convention. With the support of party leader Thomas Coleman, Kohler was elected governor in 1950 in his first try for statewide office. He was reelected to two additional terms in 1952 and 1954, winning by margins of 54%, 63%, and 51%. His margin of victory in 1952 was the largest to that date received by a Wisconsin governor. Handsome, polished, and well educated, Kohler was popular with the voters and his quiet and effective managerial style and his moderate Republicanism allowed him to manage the governmental demands of the 1950s with limited legislative controversy. Kohler's legislative accomplishments include the construction of the Wisconsin highway system, expansion of the highway patrol and efforts to increase highway safety, improvements in the public welfare system and its facilities, revisions in the criminal, administrative, and children's codes, and a beginning of reorganization of the state higher education system. Reporter John Wyngaard said that Kohler did “more lasting good as leader of state government than any [other] governor of the last generation.”
Because of his rapid rise to popularity in Wisconsin Kohler also emerged as a national political figure who was once mentioned by President Eisenhower as a possible presidential candidate. Against Coleman's wishes, Kohler became a strong supporter of Eisenhower's presidential candidacy in 1952. In that same year he also briefly flirted with the possibility of seeking Joseph McCarthy's Senate seat. Although Kohler ultimately rejected the idea, the possibility of his candidacy permanently alienated Coleman.
In 1956 Kohler chose not to seek another term and to return to private life. However, Senator McCarthy's death in the following year altered his plans. Kohler won a special, seven-way election in the Republican primary but not without creating deep wounds within the party, the leadership of which had supported Rep. Glenn Davis. These divisions contributed to Kohler's eventual defeat by Democrat William Proxmire in the general election. This defeat effectively ended Kohler's political career.
After returning to private life Kohler remaining active in the American Cancer Society and the Boy Scouts. In 1965 he was appointed to head the State Coordinating Committee for Higher Education and in that capacity was influential in the efforts to merge the state higher education systems. In 1958 Kohler returned to the public spotlight when he sued his uncle Herbert V. Kohler for deceptions that had allegedly occurred when Walter Kohler sold his financial interests in the Kohler Company in 1953. During court testimony the former governor stated that the threatened strike at the Kohler Company was a factor in his decision and that Herbert Kohler later brushed aside his efforts as governor to help settle the strike. The suit was dismissed in 1962.
Walter Kohler was married twice. His first wife was Celeste McVoy Holden. They were the parents of Terry Jodok (1934-) and Charlotte Nicolette (1936-). In 1948 he married Charlotte McAleer. Walter Kohler died from a heart attack on March 21, 1976 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
