Tributes Pour In For Fond Du Lac County Executive Al Buechel

(Fond du Lac) Tributes have poured in after the death of Wisconsin’s longest tenured executive. Fond du Lac County Executive Al Buechel died Sunday, one-day after suffering a massive heart attack. County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says Buechel was a true public servant who loved his family, the citizens he served, and was a friend and advocate of public safety.

Fond du Lac’s Emergency Management Director Bobbi Hicken says Buechel cared deeply for the residents of the county and his employees.

Board Chairman Marty Farrell says Buechel worked in retail before his stint in county government and never forgot the lessons he learned during that time. He says Buechel tried to run the county as an efficient business but also knew how to deal with the public.

State Senator Joan Ballweg says Buechel had an impact beyond the county. She says he attended numerous events, but also served on a number of boards on the state level having an impact on legislation and helping craft programs for the county that served as models for the state

Farrell will serve as acting county executive until board supervisors can appoint one. A special election will be scheduled for June with a primary in May if needed. Buechel had just over three years left on his term in office.

He had served in his executive role since 1993 after being a member of the county board for 17 years. Buechel was 74-years-old.

The governor has ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin will be flown at half-staff in honor of Al Buechel. Tony Evers says Buechel dedicated nearly a half century in total as a leader in the Fond du Lac community. He says Buechel’s work over the years has established him as an effective and accomplished leader at the local, state, and national level.

The governor offered his deepest sympathies to Buechel’s wife, Betty, and their entire family as well as his friends and colleagues whose lives were impacted by his service as they honor his memory and mourn his loss.