Remembering Dr. Bill Laatsch
With great sadness, we remember one of our founders.
Dr. Bill Laatsch, retired UWGB professor and long-time volunteer and advocate for the BHC, passed into his eternal journey on September 14, 2022. He was best remembered for the warm, humorous, and informative stories of early Belgian immigrants he shared over the course of many bus tours. Laatsch relayed the cultural uniqueness of our area like no other. He opened the eyes of visitors to the architecture and location of homes, barns, roadside chapels, summer kitchens, churches, taverns, and even the hamlets themselves.
During his years of professional research on the Belgian settlement in northeast Wisconsin, Laatsch wrote numerous papers on many aspects of the settlement. His research was instrumental in the establishment of the Namur Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and later designated a National Landmark. As one of our founding Board Members, Laatsch guided the formation of the Belgian Heritage Center, created to tell the Belgian immigrants’ stories. We will dearly miss and always remember Dr. Laatsch.