Peter Wallach

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.