"Peter was a great person who always had time for everyone. He treated everyone very fairly and when my father passed away (Abe Block) he planted some trees in their homeland for him. We sold scrap to Wausau Steel for many years and have a lot of memories that we will remember for a long time. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."
In loving memory of
Peter Ben Wallach
January 27, 1939 - April 25, 2014
Madison - Peter Ben Wallach died suddenly on April 25 at his home in Madison. He is survived by his wife of 53 years Toby Lynn Shapiro Wallach, three children - Lori, David (Melissa), and Daniel (Michelle) and three grandsons Jacob, Noah and Samuel. Peter and Toby met as freshmen in college and were married the June after they graduated. They lived much of their life together in Wausau, where as a team they raised their family, contributed to the community and built a thriving business. Since he moved to Wausau for 8th grade, Peter was a member of Mount Sinai Synagogue, a longtime choir member and served as temple president and on the board.
Peter and Toby continued to made weekend summer trips to their cottage near Minocqua even after they moved to Madison in 2002 and regular visits to Chicago to enjoy the Lyric Opera. After decades of family winter trips involving luggage stacks sufficient for a polar expedition that combined education and fun in far flung locales, starting in 25 years ago Peter and Toby gathered the family every winter at the homes they rented in Key West.
With a beautiful tenor voice, Peter loved classical music in general and opera in specific as well as classic movies. He was a perpetual student of history and the world, making him a stunning source of crossword puzzle answers. His outlandish sense of humor survives him with the legions of friends, colleagues and family telling his hilarious stories. Having grown up poor, he loved collecting toys as an adult including his beloved antique cars and a pirate flotilla of boats.
Peter Wallach was born January 27, 1939 in New York four months after his parents arrived as refugees from Nazi Germany with little more than their suitcases. After spending his first months in a cramped New York tenement apartment, Peter's family moved to Wisconsin to seek the prospect of a better future. After living in Wisconsin Rapids and Stanley Wisconsin, where Peter's father started several small businesses, the family moved to Wausau's south side in 1954. Peter began learning the business his father started in 1951 - Wausau Scrap - from the ground up immediately after graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1961. Peter's father unexpectedly passed away in 1966 and at age 27 Peter found himself responsible for the company. Over the next 48 years, he expanded Wausau Scrap into Wausau Steel - growing from a 50-employee operation to one with 160 employees - and built a prominent regional firm while maintaining the high-quality benefits, good wages and excellent safety record that made it one of Wausau's best employers.
In business and in his private life, Peter was committed to an extraordinary standard of ethics and caring. He believed in doing well and doing good and was obsessed with ensuring the well-being of his family and work colleagues. He was loved and respected by colleagues and friends alike as a very caring, kind man. Peter lived the concept of "Tikkun Olam" - the Jewish value of each person's obligation to help rebuild the brokenness of the world. Peter and his wife created the Wallach Foundation, the mission of which is to support local arts and education and social justice in the United States and abroad.
He was preceded in death by her sisters Renee Wallach Coleson and Sylvia Wallach Motin and his parents Theodore and Else Wallach. A memorial service will be held Monday April 28 at 11 AM at Mount Sinai Congregation in Wausau. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peter's honor to Mount Sinai Congregation and American Jewish World Service.
Tributes
"It was my distinct honor to work professionally with Peter for just short of 25 years. He was a man of immense integrity and the highest ethical standards. There was only one way to do things when it came to business and that was the right way....the fair way. Peter weighed business decisions by their impact on others and in particular on how they would impact the Wausau families sustained through his employment. It was not always serious with Peter. When his decisions were fraught with downside ramifications....and things were tense.....he would crack a joke or tell a self-deprecating story. The pressure eased. Peter was once late for a meeting with me by not the "normal" 30 minutes....but by well over an hour. He finally called to tell me no one had turned his office clock forward to account for daylight savings time. He had traveled up from Madison and had not been in his Wausau office for a couple weeks. He told me that in his rush to get to our meeting, he had jumped into his car and somehow misplaced his keys. Later, in the office, he showed me how the keys had fallen between the front seat and the console (toward the passenger seat). Right where he could not see them and when he finally did locate them.....he could not reach them due to the thickness of his wrist. He got down on the conference room floor to show me how he managed to wiggle them out so he could finally get to our meeting! Imagine him in the parking lot at Wausau Steel on his knees with his arm stuffed under the front seat. We laughed 'til our eyes welled! A Wausau icon.....God Bless You Peter Wallach! Thank you for all you have done. "
"Thank you, Peter, for your love for Mt. Sinai. I will miss your beautiful voice at High Holiday services. Toby, David and all of the Wallach family, please accept my condolences. G-d bless you and keep you as you face this sorrow. "
"Peter and I became friends in Wausau junior high - 8 grade. He was a nice person. Our friendship started. . I went home and asked my father - why were some kids calling him some names? I was told what to do - to my surprise. HE remained a super friend and was AN EXCELLENT PERSON."
"We always enjoyed seeing Mr. and Mrs. Wallach at every jazz concert that Dan conducted at Edgewood College. He has been a part of the Edgewood family, and we will miss him very, very much!"
"Of all the deaths I've experienced other than my family, this one hit me the hardest. I remember all the good times we had with the whole Wallach family as our families grew up together. Peter's sense of humor is one the things I remember quite well and I loved it. Peter and the whole family have been generous to not only the Mount Sinai Community but the Wausau community. I remember High Holiday Services with Peter singing which David has continued. I remember how you welcomed Elton and I to the community but it was love at first comment. Please accept my deepest sympathy for your loss and for all of us who feel we lost a family member. Anything I can do for all of you, I will. Toby, if you need me in Madison to help with anything, please let me know. God Bless You and Give you Peace in your time of sorrow. He will be missed terribly by all."
"We have many fond memories of enjoyable times spent with Peter. He loved to laugh and this was always contagious. However, he was an astute business person, knowledgable and talented in his ability for market timing. We will sorely miss our caring, loving friend."
"A consistently joyful human being who was in love with hose wife Toby."