Our long standing client and friend Albert H. Wohlers recently passed away at the age of 97. Al was a classic American success story. He grew up in Chicago and went to the University of Illinois with $200 in his pocket.
He was serving in the Army when he headed back to Champaign to propose to Jane. He kept proposing until her "no" became a "yes". This persistence would serve him well later in life.
During World War II, he served in New Guinea and other locations in the Pacific. He left the Army as a Lt. Colonel when the war ended.
After the war, Al got into the insurance business and eventually formed Albert H. Wohlers & Co. He came up with an idea of selling low-cost liability insurance to members of an association. That idea put him on the map and helped him build a very successful insurance agency. Al did business on a handshake and put relationships first. He built a great company on sound principles and eventually sold out to Marsh McLennan Companies.
Al and Jane Wohlers were philanthropists who made a major donation to the University of Illinois for the reconstruction of Commerce West into Wohlers Hall. Ironically, it was where I took many of my classes during my time at the University.
Al was a friend and mentor to me as we started Mowery & Schoenfeld. It was an honor to know him.
-Jeff
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." - Henry Ford