William A. Pohlmann

William A. Pohlmann, retired former Senior Vice President of Associated Manitowoc Bank, longtime head of its trust department, and community leader, died on December 6th, 2025, succumbing to pancreatic cancer after almost a year. He was 86.

He was born in Detroit, MI on September 9, 1939 to William and Lillian (Muenzmaier) Pohlmann. He grew up in Milwaukee, attending Rufus King High School in Milwaukee, then the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After changing his major to business-finance, he went on to earn his MBA in Finance at UWM. He married his wife of 63 years, Patty Lou, in 1962, then served for two years as a member of the Wisconsin National Guard.

In 1965 he began his career at the Marine Bank and Midland Bank in Milwaukee. He was recruited in 1972 to move to Manitowoc to join what was then the Manitowoc Savings Bank and help them launch a new Trust Department, which he would head for over 30 years. During that time, he oversaw numerous innovations in the department during a time of enormous change in the financial services industry. He began his career implementing the use of computers in banking, responded to the many shifts in tax and estate planning laws throughout his three decades in the field, and continued to follow emerging trends in behavioral investing and fund management through the end of his career. A voraciously curious reader, Bill drew on his constant vigilance about financial data and economic forecasting to manage a department fund that routinely outperformed major Wall Street money managers. The heart of his work, however, was relationships with the numerous clients for whom managing money also meant protecting their security as a trusted partner, supporting their families as an adviser, and helping them plan for their legacies.

Throughout his working life, and into his retirement, Bill was proud to contribute to Manitowoc and the Lakeshore as a member of numerous non-profits, especially the Noon Rotary Club, where he served in multiple offices including club president and was named a Paul Harris Fellow for his service, and First Lutheran Church, where he also served multiple terms on their board. He also lent his services and expertise as a financial manager and advisor for many other organizations, including serving as President of the United Way, Treasurer for and Chairman of the board of the YMCA, and a Board member and treasurer for the Bay Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts, for which he was awarded a Silver Beaver. Of his many trust clients, he was always particularly proud of his service to the Earl O Vits Memorial Trust, for which he helped secure the viability of land grants of Camp Sinawa, which he shepherded to sustainable operation, and Camp Vits, now a city wilderness park, protected for lakeshore residents in perpetuity. An avid outdoorsman himself, he always looked forward to his vacations in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, annual deer hunting trips, and fishing on the Turtle-Flambeau Flowage.

He is survived by Patty Lou Pohlmann, his loving wife; Katherine Pohlmann, his sister; and two sons, William Pohlmann, Jr. of Cottage Grove, MN, and Barry Pohlmann Moellendorf and his partner Cherelle Pohlmann Moellendorf of Los Angeles, CA, the parents of his two surviving grandchildren, Brennah and Coen Pohlmann Moellendorf.

Funeral services will be held at First Lutheran Church, 521 N. 8th St., in Manitowoc on Saturday, December 20, 2025, with visitation beginning at 10:00 AM and service to follow at 11:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Noon Rotary Club of Manitowoc, where Bill had given his longest and most enduring service to support scholarships and service in Manitowoc.