Lawrence "Larry" Ehlers

Lawrence “Larry” Ehlers of Cedarburg passed away peacefully on Wednesday January 15, 2020 at the age of 95 years. Larry was born in Granville Township (Brown Deer), WI on February 29, 1924 to the late Herman and Emma (nee Blumke) Ehlers and married Carol Lorraine Wrede on May 1, 1948. Larry is survived by his children; Jeff (Michelle Mooney) of Brown Deer, Patty (Jay Judkins) of Milwaukee, daughter-in-law; Cindy (Peterson) Ehlers, grandchildren; Elliot Ehlers, Andy Ehlers, Peter Ehlers (Rachael Holly) and Nora Ehlers, step great granddaughter: Myra Holly. He is further survived by other relatives and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Carol, his son Steve and siblings; Sylvia, Dallas, and his twin brother Leonard. “Good Morning, Good Marketing, Full Feed Ahead.” This was not only his saying, but how he lived his life. After growing up in Brown Deer, he attended Marquette University. Larry served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Upon his return he married Carol and started his career in the food industry. From working at Brown Deer Food Market and then peddling frozen foods, he honed his sales skills. He went back to Brown Deer Food Market and as he liked to say, after running out of owners, he and Carol had to buy the store in 1970. The Brown Deer Food Market soon became Larry’s Market. He was a pioneer in the food industry. After a fateful trip to New York for the Fancy Food Show, his love of specialty food was born. He was the first to bring imported cheeses, Perrier water and croissants into Wisconsin. His consummate cheese salesmanship was rewarded with winning trips for he and Carol to Switzerland, China, France, Hawaii and Bali. In France, on November 18, 1976 Larry was inducted into the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers. Larry’s Market was truly a family business as all of his children and some of his grandchildren worked at the store at some point. In the 80’s his son Steve took over running the store while he and Larry and became involved in a new company, Croissant, Etc. Larry was of course the salesman, on the road again peddling croissants across Wisconsin and the Midwest. Once he had helped build that business he returned to the market. After selling the store to Steve and his wife Cindy in 1994 Larry became a vital “employee” at Larry’s Market. He always said that it succeeded because Steve had the brains and he had the mouth. His passion was introducing good food to people, particularly Wisconsin artisan cheeses. He would often greet a customer with the words “Hi, Do you like cheese?” while handing them a slice of his current favorite to taste and then tell them the story of the cheesemaker. It was said he could sell ice to an Eskimo and he loved to introduce new products to his customers. Larry continued to work at the store sharing samples, telling tales and selling good cheese, pot pies and homemade turkey gravy, until the store was sold in 2018. Customers looked forward to hearing his stories, always told with a twinkle in his eye. He made lifelong friends wherever he went- from winters in Ft. Myers Beach to summers at his cottage on Wolf Lake. He always had a story or a joke to tell. He was deemed the “mayor of Wolf Lake”, riding around in his golf cart. You always knew where he was when you heard the “oogah” horn. Throughout his life he enjoyed skiing, golf and extensive travel. Many games of cribbage and sheephead were played in Cedarburg, Florida and Wolf Lake while imbibing in Brandy Manhattans, Kessler and Coke and good wine. His well-worn cribbage board will finally get a rest. Larry flew with the Honor Flight with his daughter Patty as his guardian in November, 2018 and counted it as one of the best days of his life. Special thanks to the staff at Lasata Crossings and Lasata Care Center for the care and services they provided. Visitation will be held on Thursday January 23, 2020 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm with a memorial service immediately following at Mueller Funeral Home W63 N527 Hanover Avenue, Cedarburg, WI 53012. In lieu of flowers, memorials to The Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Wisconsin are appreciated. And yes Larry, we were very glad to meet you.