John Emerson Erskine Jr.

An exceptional business leader, loving husband and father, and often the smartest and most sarcastic person in the room, John Erskine Jr. passed away on 31 March.

John grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, and he would spend his adult life growing a successful manufacturing company there. As a child, John attended Gilbert Knapp Elementary and McKinley Junior High. During his high school years, John studied for a year at the Collѐge Cévenol in southeastern France. He later attended Phillips Academy at Andover, from which he graduated in 1966. Returning to Wisconsin after high school, John attended UW-Madison where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.

In 1970 John joined his father and his father’s partner at a hydraulic construction tool company they had just founded, called Racine Federated. As John would later tell his children: “Working for my dad at the Company was all I ever wanted to do”. In 1985, John was made Federated’s CEO. Under his leadership, company sales quadrupled, and its workforce grew to over 130. But John was particularly proud of one initiative he led, to re-locate the many acquisitions the company had made around the country, to Racine. He believed that Racine was the logical choice not only for financial reasons, but also because his Racine-based employees, and the culture they had created within the company, were second to none. John was also extremely proud that Federated was among Racine’s top donors, with near full employee participation, in its United Way campaigns, a cause he ardently believed in. And for the company’s many successes, John was noted for giving his employees all of the credit. John finally retired in 2012, after Racine Federated was sold to Badger Meter on favorable terms allowing the core business to remain in Racine. As he wrote, “My 42-year tenure was my life’s work, and I loved it all.”

John enjoyed a quiet retirement, amongst family and close friends, and with the woman he loved with all his heart.

John is survived by his wife of 16 years Lyn (Johnsen); his five children: Mark, Jocelyn Ariail, Danielle Hardin, Andrew, John III; and numerous grandchildren. He is also survived by sister Gale; brother Tom; cousin and best friend Buck Harris; cousins Sally Harris, Malcolm Harris, and Melanie Johnston; and extended family Gail Kelly, Lauren Kelly, and Alison Coyne.

John was predeceased by his brother Perry.

A visitation will be held from 10:00 am-1:00 pm on Saturday 7 June, at Maresh - Meredith and Acklam Funeral Home, 803 Main Street, Racine, WI 53403.

In 2019, John established a charitable fund, managed by the Racine Community Foundation, to benefit Racine, and the United Way of Racine County in particular. He encouraged his family members to contribute, reminding us that wherever we live today, our roots are here, in this very special city. In this spirit, the family respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in John’s honor can be made to the Erskine Family Fund, c/o Racine Community Foundation, 1135 Warwick Way, Racine, WI 53406; https://www.racinecommunityfoundation.org/donate