Carroll Lohr

Carroll F. "Pete" Lohr, age 85, passed away on Saturday, July 6, 2013 at home. While he took with him his warm smile, he has left us, his family and friends, with a reassuring memory of the kind, sincere and thoughtful man we all knew as Pete, Dad and Grandpa.
Carroll was born in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin to Peter C. and Ella (Brahs) Lohr on October 11, 1927. He grew up on a farm, attended a one room schoolhouse and graduated from Prairie du Sac High School in 1944. He was very active in each of the four high school sports. He played the tuba because he was big and never ever sang. He entered the University of Wisconsin at the age of 16 and may have been the youngest player ever to play on a Badger football team. After attending three semesters he was drafted into the Army, holding the rank of Sergeant until his discharge at the end of WWII. He returned and played for the Badger basketball team. In October 1948, he married Dorothy Cramer, the mother of his four children. He married Elaine Van Skyke Hubbard in October 1976.
Graduating in 1949, he took his first job as a teacher and coach in Whitehall, Wisconsin. It was there that he returned to his high school nickname of Pete, the name that most of us know him by. In 1952, he took a position as a teacher and coach in Kiel, Wisconsin where he developed lifelong friendships with teachers and football and basketball players. He became a Mason in 1954. While working on his Master's in Education in Madison he began working with the summer playgrounds and became director. There are many Madisonians who first met Pete when they were youth counselors for the program. In 1961, he began his career with the Madison Public Schools Recreation and Physical Education Department. He became Coordinator of Athletics for the four Madison public high schools in 1974, retiring in 1986. For the next 17 years he served as On Site Coordinator for all WIAA state tournaments held in Madison. Through this period he continued conversations with former players, replaying the crucial plays and listening to the stories of the next generations of both boys and girls in athletics. Pete was a football and basketball official for 30 years which added to his network of friends around the state. Through his adult years he played baseball, softball, basketball and golf but never had the urge to run. The Golf Guys have been the center of his golf world.
Pete's roots to the farm grew into wonderful gardens and landscapes. He was vain about his grass. Feeding the birds and fighting the squirrels and chipmunks were avid hobbies.
Pete is survived by his wife, Elaine; his children: Linda Garnett, Nancy (Rodney) Kellerhuis (grandchildren Jennifer and Aaron), Philip (Mary) Lohr (grandchildren Ellyn and Peter), Stacy (Arjuna "Bud") Sorensen (grandchild Billy Joe Hale II)and step-daughter Julie (John Wartgow) Hubbard; his sister Violet (Al) Hovland; Elaine's sister and brother-in-law Eleanor and Nick Brown and former son-in-law James Garnett. He was preceded in death by his parents and his stepson Reed Hubbard.
A wonderful man has left us in body but his spirit will not be diminished. Always a proud and loving husband, father, grandfather and stepfather. A mentor to many even as he never realized it. The quite man with a genuine, caring smile. And when he spoke we listened, learned and laughed.
We thank the many friends who came to visit. What a tribute to Pete while he was living. He was surprised and astounded. We were uplifted.
A funeral service will be held at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison, on Friday, July 12, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. A visitation will be held at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, on Thursday, July 11 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and at the funeral home on Friday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service.
Memorials would be appreciated to The Foundation for Madison's Public Schools, 455 Science Drive, Suite #130, Madison, WI 53711 and to Agrace HospiceCare, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711.