Frederick Louis Maytag, III

Frederick Louis Maytag II, became president of the Maytag Company and assumed his father's positions in his other enterprises. Fred II was a graduate of Culver Military Academy and the University of Wisconsin. Married in 1934, he and his wife, the former Ellen Pray, were the parents of four children: Ellen (Egger), Frederick III "Fritz," Martha (Peterson), and Kenneth.

Production of washing machines ceased when World War II began, and the Maytag facilities were converted to military-related production. Manufacturing expertise gained during the war placed the company in a strong position to resume appliance production and to develop an expanded home laundry product line. Fred recognized the abilities of others and built competent management teams that continued the successful operation of each of the companies he headed when he began to relinquish some of his own responsibilities.

Fred's personal interests included photography, scuba diving, duck hunting, and piloting his own plane. He served in the Iowa Senate from 1946 to 1952, was active in the Republican Party at the state and national level, and was active in Scouting. He served as chairman of the Herbert Hoover Birthplace Foundation, was a director of Ducks Unlimited and the Freedom Foundation, and served on the board of Grinnell College. In addition to being chairman of the board of the Maytag Company, president of Maytag Co. Ltd. of Winnipeg, and president of the Maytag Dairy Farms, Inc., he was a member of the boards of directors of Northwestern Bell and Minneapolis-Honeywell and chair of the board of the Jasper County Savings Bank and the Kellogg Savings Bank.

Fred Maytag II died of cancer in Newton in 1962 at the age of 51. His will established the Fred Maytag Family Foundation, which has supported many worthwhile projects.