Five killed at brewery identified, remembered
Obituaries, friends heap praise on victims
They were powerhouse operators, a machinist and an electrician.
They were also husbands, fathers and colleagues.
The five men died together Wednesday when a co-worker opened fire at Molson Coors in Milwaukee’s Miller Valley before killing himself.
Their names are now forever linked:
❚ Jesus Valle Jr., 33, of Milwaukee, a powerhouse operator with the Milwaukee brewery since 2014
❚ Gennady “Gene” Levshetz, 61, of Mequon, a powerhouse operator with the brewery since 2008
❚ Trevor Wetselaar, 33, of Milwaukee, a powerhouse operator with the brewery since 2018
❚ Dana Walk, 57, of Delafield, a machinist with the brewery since 2004
❚ Dale Hudson, 60, of Waukesha, an electrician with the brewery since 2008
Police also identified the shooter as Anthony N. Ferrill, 51.
Ferrill had worked as an electrician for more than 20 years, about 17 of them at Molson Coors. He had been involved in a long-running dispute with a co-worker that boiled over before he came back with two guns and started shooting, according to law enforcement and brewery sources.
At a Thursday news conference, officials provided no additional details on the shooting.
“Right now, there’s an investigation going on. I think it’s premature to speculate on anything,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. “I think this is the time, again, to be there to grieve and to support the families.”
Police Chief Alfonso Morales declined to answer questions about the case, saying, “the reason for this is still under investigation.”
Gavin Hattersley, the chief executive officer of Molson Coors, thanked the community for its support, saying, “today 18,000 Molson Coors employees are grieving.”
He called the victims “members of our family,” adding that “they were powerhouse operators, they were machinists and they were electricians.”
“But more importantly they were husbands, they were fathers and they were friends,” Hattersley said. “They were part of the fabric of our company and our community, and we will miss them terribly.”
Hattersley said he had spent the day meeting with the families of the victims and Molson Coors employees in Milwaukee.
“It’s really impossible to understand and imagine what they are going through at the moment,” he said. “The loss that they have incurred, and the pain that they are feeling.”
“It is in the face of events like these that we most need to find support in community — in a coming together with a common purpose to bring healing and peace. Together, we are, and will remain, Milwaukee Strong.” Statement from Milwaukee Common Council
What we know about the victims Dale Hudson
Hudson, of Waukesha, worked as an electrician. A co-worker said he was planning to retire at the end of the year. His friends and co-workers knew him as “Huddy.”
“He was a great electrician. He taught me so much,” said a co-worker who asked not to be identified, saying workers are not permitted to talk to the media.
“He was a hunter, a fisherman. He had a wife and a couple of kids.”
“There was nothing Dale wouldn’t do for someone. You would ask him for help and he would always, always help.”
The co-worker said he was particularly helpful to apprentices, who earned less, often picking up lunches or dinners.
“He would go out of his way to help people. That’s who Dale was.”
Hudson was good friends with Dana Walk, a machinist who also was killed Wednesday, according to the co-worker.
“At the end of the day, they would sit in Dale’s office and ... talk about fishing.”
Dana Walk
Walk was a 1981 graduate of Kettle Moraine High School. A resident of Delafield, he was married with three children.
In an obituary, his family said he was an avid fisherman who enjoyed spending time on the lake with friends and family.
“He was always listening to his music while working on his hobbies, home projects, and anything he could do to help others,” the obituary reads. “His family will miss Dana’s backseat coaching of the Packers to another Super Bowl.”
A family friend created a GoFundMe page for Walk’s funeral expenses.
Tom Koepp of Pewaukee was Walk’s friend for around 10 years.
“It’s heartbreaking to everybody around the Pewaukee area,” Koepp said. “Dana was a good husband to his wife, a good father and a good friend to a lot of people in the Pewaukee area.”
Walk was a member of the Pewaukee chapter of Walleyes For Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization that helps improve the fisheries on Pewaukee Lake.
Koepp said Walk’s father, Leo, owns Walk’s Island on Pewaukee Lake.
“He really spent all his free time, any minute he could,on the lake fishing,” Koepp said of Walk.
Walk was married to Dori (nee Denz) for 35 years. He was the father of Andy, Melanie and Michelle (James). His parents were Leo and June Walk. Walk’s brothers were Dan (Karen) and Duane.
A gathering at St. Anthony on the Lake Catholic Church, W280 N2101 Prospect Ave., Pewaukee, will take place 4 to 7 p.m. March 5. An additional gathering at the church is scheduled for Friday, March 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. A Mass of Christian burial is at 11.
Jesus Valle
Family members of Jesus Valle were sharing tributes Thursday on social media.
Alberto Valle said on social media that his cousin Jesus was the second Valle man to die from gun violence.
“My family has already been through enough gun violence trauma,” he wrote. “I can’t even believe this is real again. Please keep my family in your prayers and hold those dearest to you close.”
He said he heard about the shooting Wednesday and was saddened by it, only to later learn his cousin was one of the victims.
Gene Levshetz
Gennady “Gene” Levshetz emigrated from Ukraine to Mequon in the early 1990s.
“His daughter would come and play with our kids, and at first she couldn’t speak English,” said Jim Malcolm, a former neighbor.
He said Levshetz had earned degrees in Ukraine, and after working a few years for Goodwill Industries and some organizations, asked Malcolm, who worked at Miller Brewing’s corporate divisions, whether he might get a job with the company.
“I recommended Miller and told him who to contact there,” Malcolm said.
“People always said he was overqualified for his job,” Malcolm said. “But he was a great electrician.”
Levshetz, 61, leaves behind a wife, two grown daughters, a son-in-law and two grandchildren. His funeral has been scheduled at 1 p.m. Sunday at Congregation Shalom, 7630 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Fox Point.
“Gene will be remembered as the best husband, dad, and dede,” his obituary reads. “He was a kind, caring, and giving person who always put his family’s needs before his own.”
The family asked for privacy in a statement as they try to come to terms with their “unimaginable loss.”
“The Levshetz family is devastated by the loss of their deeply loved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle,” the statement reads. “We appreciate the outpouring of support from friends and family.”
Trevor Wetselaar
Trevor Wetselaar, 33, of Milwaukee, was an engine room operator at the brewery.
He grew up in the area, graduating from Pius XI High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He started at MillerCoors in 2018, according to his LinkedIn page.
The job at Miller was his “dream job” that allowed him to move home, said friend Andrew Moriarity. He is survived by his wife, Jane Moy, his parents Jilles and Janet Wetselaar, and brother Tony Wetselaar.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank tweeted her condolences to Wetselaar’s loved ones Thursday evening. He graduated in 2009 with a degree in political science. The UW Alumni Association also extended thoughts and prayers to his family and friends in a statement.
Officials react
Before identifying the victims Thursday, a somber Morales said, “We’re here today because six families lost their loved ones.”
“I do want to extend my condolences to the families of these victims, and my condolences to the entire family and staff of Molson Coors,” Morales said.
Barrett called on the community to “come together and put our arms around these grieving families.”
“Our families are hurting. The Molson Coors families are hurting. The Miller families are hurting. Our city is hurting,” Barrett said.
He urged people to respect the victims’ families. “But we should also recognize that they are going to need our help as a community,” Barrett said. “Because they’ve gone through something that no one wants to go through, a sudden, tragic, unexpected, unbelievable loss of life.”
The mayor stressed Miller’s long history in the city. “Miller and Molson Coors are a very important part of this community. For over a century and a half they’ve been part of the fabric of this community, and they’ve been there for us,” Barrett said. “And it’s now time for us to be there for them.”
He added, “God bless these families, and God bless the city of Milwaukee.”
The brewery, which was founded in 1855 as Miller Brewing Co., is a legendary part of Milwaukee’s beer brewing tradition.
The mass shooting, the largest in the United States in 2020 to date, has shaken residents and city leaders.
All 15 members of the Milwaukee Common Council released a statement Thursday calling for people to support each other, especially the families and friends of the victims.
“This is an unimaginable horror and we stand with them in their sorrow. We must not yield to despair or weariness, even as violence of this kind continues with disturbing frequency,” aldermen said.
“It is in the face of events like these that we most need to find support in community — in a coming together with a common purpose to bring healing and peace. Together, we are, and will remain, Milwaukee Strong.”
The Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990 is available to provide crisis counseling to people affected by the shootings at the Molson Coors complex in Milwaukee, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday.
Bruce Vielmetti, Annysa Johnson, Evan Frank, Sarah Hauer, Talis Shelbourne and Devi Shastri of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @SCarson_News.