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Milton
A. Frater
1924 - 2002
LAKE MILLS
-
Milton A. Frater,
77, of Lake Mills, passed away
Funeral services will be held
Thursday at
Burial with military graveside rites
conducted by the Watertown Veterans Council will be in St.
Henry Cemetery.
Family and friends may call to pay
their respects at the Schmutzler-Vick Funeral Home on
Wednesday from
In lieu of flowers, the family asks
memorials be sent to the Watertown Senior and Community Center.
Frater was born and raised in Watertown.
He was a graduate of Watertown High School.
He began college at the University of Wisconsin, but then in 1943
enlisted in the United
States Navy during World War II. After serving three years aboard the USS Cincinnati
as one of the first men trained in radar and sonar, he was wounded in action
and received an honorable discharge and returned home.
On
In 1953, he injected the struggling
postwar industrial era with revolutionary applications of plastics by patenting
the stack 'n nest containers. Together with his brother, Allen H. Frater, they conceived the concept of reinforcing their
plastic with Owens Corning Fiberglass, producing the most durable container of
that time.
“Imagineering"
is a term and concept invented and coined by Milton. Together with his father, G.
Gordon Frater, and brother
Allen, Milt imagineered, invented and produced the first
automated vertical storage unit, the Select-a-Shelf, and the divider boxes in 1962.
These two inventions were destined to radically change the layout and procedure
of production facilities. They enabled U.S. corporations to streamline
operations and jump to the forefront of international production.
To provide adequate inventory of
these inventions, Milton was responsible for locating, building and
incorporating two sites in Manchester and Monticello, Iowa. These sites were
chosen for their community work ethic and state land municipal cooperation.
Quoting a 1963 Watertown Daily Times article G. B. Lewis Co. then stood as “a
monument to American enterprise, business foresight and well managed operation
... It is no exaggeration to say that if the founders of the company ... could
return today and see what they started, they would be both amazed and
satisfied. And justly proud, for nowhere in local annals is there a better
story of success than that which is to be found in the history of the G. B. Lewis
Company here in Watertown.”
Representing the United States at
three Industrial World Fairs, Milton and his wife met and shared ideas with
many other international corporate minds. This resulted in Milt's exchanging of
patents which mutually benefited international plastic development.
After retirement, he was
instrumental in establishing numerous other manufacturing concerns - Best-Ex
(metal stamping), Northwest Power Products (NWPP)
distribution, Scotlin Ceramic Distributors and LEW Inc.
Milt and Mary put their time and
energy toward the restoration of the town of McGregor, Iowa, playing cards and
boating on Rock Lake (Lake Mills) and the Mississippi River.
His creative and entrepreneurial
spirit survives in his children. They include Tim (Kathy) of Neenah, Jim (Kris)
of Cottage Grove, Linda (Charles Zahn) of McGregor,
Iowa, Bob (Kelly) of Houston, Texas, Patrick (Sandy) and Scott (Laura) of
Minneapolis, Minn., and the foreign exchange student daughter, Maria (Freire) Poblete of Quebec,
Canada.
He passed his dedication, honesty
and strong work ethic to his 11 grandchildren, and the seeds of humor and
intellect to his seven great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Also surviving are his brother,
Allen H. (Angela) Frater of Mequon; a maternal aunt,
Janette Schroeder of Rockford, Ill.; and other relatives.
His parents, G. Gordon and Hazel Frater, preceded him in death.
