UW-Green Bay is site for celebration of Peter Cofrin’s life
A public gathering of friends and family of the late Peter A. Cofrin is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. this Saturday (Oct. 4) on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Peter Cofrin
UW-Green Bay Founders Association event, May 2007
Cofrin, a Green Bay native, died July 10 at age 63.
The gathering, titled “A Celebration of the Life of Peter Austin Cofrin,” will take place in the Winter Garden area on the second level of Mary Ann Cofrin Hall. The atrium overlooks the courtyard that is the gateway to the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum. Peter Cofrin played a key role in land acquisition and creation of the arboretum.
Peter Cofrin – 1975
Peter Cofrin was born May 26, 1945, one of six children of the late John and Barbara Hauxhurst Cofrin and the nephew of Dr. David and Mary Ann Cofrin. He grew up in Green Bay and attended the Choate School in Wallingford, Conn., and Cornell University in New York state.
In the mid-1970s, Peter and his brothers and sisters established an endowment for plantings, trail development and the purchase of additional property for an arboretum encircling campus with restored prairie, woodlands and Green Bay shoreline. Their $575,000 gift — at the time, the largest donation to a UW school outside of Madison — was a memorial to their father, who was president of Fort Howard Paper Co., and grandfather Austin Cofrin, the company founder. In 1989, the Cofrin children received the University’s highest community honor, the Chancellor’s Award. Peter continued to support UW-Green Bay through the years with his participation and presence at special events.
Peter was the founder of the Good For All Society. He had a lifelong love of music, and was owner and operator of Third Coast Records and Pierce Arrow Recording, both in Evanston, Ill.
He is survived by his siblings, Patricia, John, Andrew and Penelope, and a son, Austin J. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Doug.
Schauer and Schumacher Funeral Home of Green Bay is assisting the family. To light a candle and express online condolences, please visit www.schauer-schumacherfuneralhome.com.
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