A legacy of gratitude

Bernie Greenheck was born in 1917 in North Dakota and spent most of his childhood in Lone Rock, Wisconsin. In the early 1940s, he moved to the Wausau area, where he met and married Esther in 1943. During World War II, Bernie served in the U.S. Army as an automotive and aviation technician, stationed primarily in France.

After returning home, Bernie and his brother, Bob, launched a small sheet metal shop in Schofield. What began as a modest operation eventually grew into the world’s leading manufacturer of air movement, control, and conditioning equipment for non-residential buildings.

Throughout his remarkable 55-year career as president and chairman of Greenheck Fan Corporation, Bernie earned deep respect and loyalty from customers and employees alike. In 1983, the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point named him Central Wisconsin’s Outstanding Small Business Person of the Year, and in 2009 he was posthumously honored as a Champion of Business by Junior Achievement of Wisconsin’s Northcentral District.

Although Bernie passed away in 2003, his memory and generosity continue to live on through the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.

Bernie Greenheck was born in 1917 in North Dakota and spent most of his childhood in Lone Rock, Wisconsin. In the early 1940s, he moved to the Wausau area, where he met and married Esther in 1943. During World War II, Bernie served in the U.S. Army as an automotive and aviation technician, stationed primarily in France.

After returning home, Bernie and his brother, Bob, launched a small sheet metal shop in Schofield. What began as a modest operation eventually grew into the world’s leading manufacturer of air movement, control, and conditioning equipment for non-residential buildings.

Throughout his remarkable 55-year career as president and chairman of Greenheck Fan Corporation, Bernie earned deep respect and loyalty from customers and employees alike. In 1983, the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point named him Central Wisconsin’s Outstanding Small Business Person of the Year, and in 2009 he was posthumously honored as a Champion of Business by Junior Achievement of Wisconsin’s Northcentral District.

Although Bernie passed away in 2003, his memory and generosity continue to live on through the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.

Esther (Blume) Greenheck was born on September 8, 1919, in Belvidere, Illinois. She married Bernie in Wausau in 1943 before contributing to the war effort as a civilian clerk typist with a Military Police detachment in Kansas City, Missouri.

After the war, Esther and Bernie settled back in Wausau, where she dedicated herself to caring for Bernie and their daughter Sandy. Esther was known for her warm hospitality—her baking, holiday meals, and piano music were treasured centerpieces of family life.

Esther passed away in 2011 at the age of 92. Her many acts of kindness, generosity, and quiet strength remain cherished by her family and continue to shape the spirit of giving at the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.