Submitted Photo Joe (Joey) Lohmeyer, with his cap gun, guards his dad’s trucks.
A lot of people talk about having not only a mission in life but one informed by values like faith, family and community. Joe Lohmeyer is an example of someone who follows through on that.
He recently retired from being at the helm of Lohmeyer Plumbing, a business founded by his grandparents in 1936. His grandfather had worked for another plumber for about 20 years. After World War II service, his father joined the enterprise, becoming president in 1962. Joe’s mother became the bookkeeper.
Joe, class of 1972, Columbus High School, went to IU with the intention of studying biology.
“I quickly concluded that I didn’t care how many hearts an earthworm had,” he says.
During his college years, his fraternity wasn’t exactly flush with cash, so he became the maintenance man for the house, which involved a lot of learning by doing.
He earned a degree in business and finance.
As his father’s health declined, he and his brother Jim got more involved in the plumbing business. Jim developed schizophrenia, so Joe’s responsibilities increased. This phase involved yet more learning by doing. His schooling had been more focused on large corporations, and he was navigating a small, family-run environment.
“A lot of it was just fishing for information,” he says. “There was no Google and very few plumbing books. I went to a pump school in Ohio to learn about water pumps.”
In those early days, he’d take care of desk work in the morning and make calls in the afternoon.
“You’re literally in the trenches, behind walls and in crawl spaces.”
He avoided being overwhelmed by remembering the support he had from his family.
“My uncle once told me, ‘God will never give you a problem without the strength to get through it,” he recalls. “There are no self-made people. All of us have been held up.”
In 1982, he married his wife Lisa, whom he’d met at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, where his family had long roots. They deepened those roots, with Joe serving on the board of directors, as church council chair, and, with Lisa, leading two building campaigns. Lisa, who had studied organ at Concordia River Forest and obtained a master’s degree from IU, became music director.
Along the way, they had two daughters, who now go by the names Betsy Elwert and Katie Walker.
In recent years, Joe, wanting to extend the service he’d given to St. Peter’s, has become involved with First Christian Church. The most noteworthy way that has manifested itself is his work on the church tower rehabilitation. He worked closely with Richard McCoy of Landmark Columbus, and he notes that the project was funded in large part by people from beyond the congregation.
Betsy started by following a path more like her mother’s. She majored in music business at Anderson University. She then married and lived in Anderson for a couple of years.
Joe initiated a conversation with her about the family business but made sure it was pressure-free. Betsy came on board ten years ago.
Lohmeyer Plumbing currently employs ten plumbers. Joe notes the changes wrought by technological advances.
“Tools are available that didn’t exist 40 years ago,” he says. “Recently, our plumbers have gone to tankless water heater school.”
What sets the firm’s plumbers apart from the customary arrangement is that they don’t work on a commission basis. That way, they’re not in competition with each other.
That fosters trust and long-term customer relationships.
“You see these customers not only in their homes, but in the community.”
What’s next for Joe?
“I’ll always have church-related activities,” he says. “I’ll also continue serving on the Southwestern Bartholomew Water board. We try to run that more like a business than a utility, so we’re not acting impersonally.”
He feels he’s leaving the business in capable hands, with Betsy and Joe’s brother-in-law David Dietrich providing family continuity.
“Most people are more capable than they give themselves credit for if you get out of the way,” he observes.
It’s obvious that faith is the biggest driver of how he conducts his life. It’s a faith that was instilled during his upbringing and has passed the tests presented along the way.
“I think the way I was raised put some lifelong guardrails up that kept me from straying too far.”
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https://www.therepublic.com/2024/01/31/faith-family-and-community-joe-lohmeyer-retires-after-47-years-at-lohmeyer-plumbing/
