John J Frautschi

John Jones Frautschi was born on November 18, 1929 as a 4th generation Madisonian and enjoyed an extraordinary 87 years as a great civic and business leader, wonderful husband and father. He died on March 9, 2017. His wife Mary Weston Frautschi precede him in death. His kids, Peter (Lorrie), Kip (Ann), and Liz , and his grandkids Tony and Heidi, Blake, Amy, Paloma, Lily, and Shirley, as well his brother, Jerry (Pleasant) survived him. John grew up on the shores of Lake Mendota in Madison Wisconsin. He travelled to Montana and the west as a boy, and eventually to much of Europe, Africa, Asia, Shilly Chalet, and even the north pole, and always came back. John graduated from Fountain Valley High School in Colorado Springs in 1947, and Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1951. He then attended Carnegie Mellon and earned a B.S. in Graphic Arts and served in the Army. He married Mary on Feb 2nd, 1957, and joined his father in business at the Democrat Printing Company. Together, they transformed the Democrat into what became Webcrafters Inc. which became one of the region's most successful and respected printing manufacturers. He (and brother Jerry) donated 1,700 feet of Lake Mendota shoreline and land, adjacent to Picnic Point, to the University of Wisconsin. This area is now named Frautschi Point in honor of their father Walter, and will remain undeveloped and open to the public. John also founded a private foundation that has supported dozens of local charities since the early 1980's.