Graf remembered as intelligent, kind and soft-spoken
By John Faucher
Hortonville High School Class of 1968 graduate John Philipp Graf died Friday, June 5, at his home in Galesville, Wisconsin.
Graf was 69 years old and had been battling cancer.
He was the second-longest serving publisher of the Galesville Republican weekly newspaper, which he purchased in 1985.
Under Graf’s leadership the Galesville Republican was one of the first newspapers in the state to use desktop computer publishing.
He was well known among his peers in the industry for his passion in providing local news coverage in the communities his paper served.
Graf’s passion for news began at Hortonville High School where he wrote for the Polar Cub school newspaper his junior and senior years. He was also involved with yearbook staff all four years of school and a four-year member of the photo club.
He was a member of the school’s language club, A.F.S. and a student council member for three years and served as president his senior year. He was also named as Outstanding Teenager of America during his senior year.
Articles about Graf appeared regularly in the Hortonville Star newspaper which covered numerous accomplishments of students.
Then Editor of the Star, Shirley Vance recalled Graf and his family.
“His parents were Swiss immigrants that later moved to this area from Minnesota,” said Vance.
“They were just a delightful family and so involved in the community,” she said. “All of them were very educated and bright.”
Graf is the son of Philipp and Anna (Pfister) Graf. The couple lived in the Mackville area where they raised five children including John, Elizabeth, Tom, Cathy and Mark all attending the Hortonville School District.
“I’m not sure what Philipp and Anna did for a profession, but they were very involved in church, local civic organizations and school functions,” recalls Vance.
Letter to the editor
In 1971, Philipp Graf penned a letter to the editor urging residents to support their local school board in deciding to move forward with facilities upgrades, but he urged all not to forget that “teaching is much more than providing classrooms and equipment.”
In his closing paragraph Graf wrote: “To survive, the human community needs more than the technical skills to operate our industrial, mechanical society. The human community needs the willingness and understanding to live together as a people, and only teachers, real teachers, not classrooms, will create that desire. Therefore we will have to keep a careful balance between the effort we spend on the buildings and on the teachers.”
Vance spent the majority of her weekend at her home in New London reading old paper clippings from her years as editor of the Hortonville Press and New London Star.
On Revisiting Philipp Graf’s Sept. 5, 1971 letter to the editor, Vance recently applied the value of his statement in the frame of today’s current happenings in society.
“That’s just the kind of people they were. They were so were so thoughtful and intelligent,” she said.
After graduating from Hortonville High School, John Graf received a grant to the Wisconsin State University, Stevens Point where he pursued a degree in mass communications.
During his time at Stevens Point, Graf served on the Hansen Hall Council and worked at the Pointer student newspaper. He graduated in 1972.
Graf married his wife Lois Hoftizer in Madison on May 5, 1979. At the time he was employed in the circulation and promotion department of the Community Newspapers Inc. of Monona. He was also editor, co-publisher and owner of a bi-weekly newsletter affiliated with the Wisconsin United Methodist Church.
The couple had six children Beth, Susanne, Philipp, Martha, Lydia and Markus and seven grandchildren.
According to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, Graf was a Golden Member of the Association and newspapering remained his lifelong career.
He worked in all aspects of the business, including as a reporter, writer, photographer, typesetter, proof-reader, graphic designer, publisher and owner.
After moving to his mother’s hometown of Uetendorf, Switzerland, in 1983, Graf returned to Wisconsin with his family and purchased the Galesville Republican which he owned until his retirement in 2011.
After retiring, Graf remained active in the local chamber of commerce and his community. He served six years as Galesville’s mayor.
Classmate remembers Graf
Graf never forgot his roots in Hortonville and regularly attended Class of 68’ Reunions throughout the years.
Former classmate Rene Grode recalls Graf’s family growing up in a rural area of the Hortonville School District.
“From what I know, they always tended towards helping people,” said Grode, who grew up nearby in the Town of Center.
Grode has lived next to his family farmstead on Rock Road his entire life. He has assisted with every class reunion since graduation.
“John always seemed happy. He was a quiet voice and had an even keel,” said Grode. “He never got mad about anything.”
“We never really got to know each other while we were in school,” said Grode. “John attended class reunions and for whatever reason it seems you just get to know people better after high school,” said Grode.
Most recently, Graf attended the 50th class reunion two years ago and the 51st reunion last summer.
“We had a nice long visit,” said Grode.
“He knew he was real sick. John was deeply religious and comfortable about sharing his faith,” said Grode.
Graf told him, “If God chooses that it’s my time, I’m ready.”
“He had a higher calling and there was a certain peace about him,” said Grode. “John seemed very comfortable in his own skin.”
Funeral services for John Graf will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 20 at Coulee Life Church in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, June 19.