Frederick Charles “Fred” Lach, Jr.

Frederick Charles “Fred” Lach, Jr., passed away peacefully on May 10, 2022, at the age of 79. Fred was a beloved husband of his late wife, Gae Lach, a proud father of Susannah (Frank) Tuttle, John

(Virginia) Lach, and Cecily Lach, and cherished

“PaPa” to Emmett and Owen Lach. Born August 18,

1942, in Hollywood, CA, Fred grew up in Redondo

Beach and Westchester, CA, and graduated from

Long Beach State University. It was there that he met the love of his life, Gae Celeste Chatten, and they were wed in 1965. Fred worked as an engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power and, as it has been told, the married couple lived off of his salary while they put all of Gae’s salary as a kindergarten teacher into a travel fund. This allowed them to travel across Europe, the first time for seven weeks and again three years later for six weeks, with Fred taking slide photos of all the cathedrals, castles, museums and vistas they visited. It was during these trips that Fred fell in love with wine, and he returned to California and introduced to their many friends the art of wine-making in the late 1960’s just as the state was beginning to be known for its vineyards. Fred supported new wineries by investing in their “futures” which were always full of vintage discoveries for many years to come. In 1972, Fred and Gae took a big leap as he accepted a director position of an engineering firm in Wisconsin. Along with their new-born daughter, Susannah, they moved to Wauwatosa, WI. In 1973 they welcomed son, John, and in 1977 they adopted 2yr old, Cecily, from Kerala, India. Although family time was always his primary focus, Fred was a successful entrepreneur and took great pride in creating jobs for hundreds. In 1981 he founded Electromotive Systems, Inc. and served as President and CEO until selling the company in 1998 and enjoying a long retirement and world-wide travels with his beloved wife. One of Fred’s favorite evening activities was to watch DVDs of live concerts, and he would sing harmony with the likes of the Eagles, BeeGees, America, Alan Parsons Project while often using a candlestick as a pretend microphone. He was an avid reader of books, and he never went a day without reading the newspaper, completing crossword puzzles, and beating the computer at chess. The best days also included multiple games of bridge - it didn’t matter if he won or was dealt “lousy cards”, he loved to play and keep score. Fine food was important to Fred; he was a fantastic cook, and one of his favorite discussion topics was what everyone was having for dinner. Later in life he added the practice of Tai Chi and could be seen taking sips of his self-designed cocktail named “Fred & Tonic” during his happy hours while practicing the meditative flow movements, preferably outdoors. His favorite place to travel was Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and just three weeks before his death he treated his family to a vacation there to enjoy his most favorite sunsets over the Pacific Ocean where he & Gae visited annually for over 30 years. In 2007, Fred (PaPa) & Gae (GiGi) welcomed their first grandson, Emmett, and a second grandchild, Owen, in 2009. After many glorious years of retired living in Hartland, WI on beautiful Beaver Lake, where countless celebrations and boat rides took place, they made the decision to move to Virginia to be as close as possible to their grandchildren. In 2012 they moved into an Independent Living apartment at The Lodge at Old Trail in Crozet, VA. There they enjoyed the rest of their lives being close to Chapel Hill and Charlottesville, with their children and grandchildren as a constant focus and priority. After Gae passed away in 2014, Cecily moved across the street from The Lodge and was able to be his yoga teacher where he lived. Cecily was his constant companion and travel partner for the last three years of his life. Fred and Gae treasured raising their family in Wisconsin and have established the “Fred and Gae Lach Family Fund” with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The family encourages those of interest to make community contributions to charitable organizations of their choice.