Peter Cofrin was the youngest of six children of the late John and Barbara Hauxhurst Cofrin of Green Bay and the nephew of Dr. David and Mary Ann Cofrin. In the mid-1970s, the children established an endowment to develop trails and plantings and purchase additional property to create the Arboretum. Their $575,000 gift — at the time, the largest donation to a UW school outside of Madison — was a memorial to their father, John, who was president of Fort Howard Paper Co., and grandfather Austin Cofrin, the company founder. Peter and his siblings received the University’s highest community honor, the Chancellor’s Award, in 1989.

A search of UW-Green Bay’s Website turns up references including a photo from the spring 2007 Founders Association reception (the fourth one down at http://www.uwgb.edu/univcomm/news/photoarch/events/07foundersrecep1.htm) as well as a vintage Arboretum photo on a page honoring Peter’s older brother, Doug, who died in July 2000 (http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/arboretum/architecture/tribute.htm).