MARSHFIELD, WI (WSAU-WDLB) — The last remaining child of former governor and Marshfield business tycoon William H. Upham has died.
Frederick M. Upham died December 30th in Fort Collins, CO. He was 97.
Governor Upham was one of Marshfield’s largest employers in the late 1800s and is often credited with the rebuilding of Marshfield following the “Great Fire” in 1887. The historic Upham mansion now serves as a museum and home to the North Wood County Historical Society.
“Fritz” was the son of Upham and his second wife, Grace Mason Upham, whom he met after the death of his first wife, Mary Kelly, in 1912.
Fritz was born in May of 1921, during his father’s 80th year, joining brother William H.”Bill” Upham Jr. Bill Junior died in August of 2009.
Fritz Upham was a 1940 graduate of Marshfield Senior High School. He was drafted into the Navy and served from 1942 until 1944.
After the Navy, he attended UW-Madison, where he studied pre-med, but later moved to Colorado to work in the oil fields. He had been living in the Fort Collins, CO, area until his death last month.
