Rick Romell and Joe Taschler

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Phillip Keiser, who last year became CEO of Culver's Franchising System Inc., has died, the Wisconsin restaurant company said Monday.

Keiser died on Saturday of natural causes, the firm said. With his death, co-founder Craig Culver will take over as interim CEO until a successor is named.

Keiser would have turned 61 on Monday, a company spokesman said.

"The entire Culver’s community is devastated," Culver's said in a statement announcing Keiser's death.

Keiser worked for Culver's for more than 20 years and was a driving force in the chain's expansion, the company said. Since 1996, Culver's has grown from 44 restaurants to 580 spread across 24 states. Almost all of the restaurants — known for its "Butter Burgers" and frozen custard — are franchises.

“Culver’s would not be what it is today without Phil’s influence,” Craig Culver said in a statement. “Yet as great a loss as this is for us professionally, it doesn’t begin to touch how much Phil will be missed on a personal level."

Keiser had more than 35 years of food industry and restaurant management experience.

Keiser came to Culver's, based in Prairie du Sac, after holding management jobs at Burger Chef and Hardee's. He served as Culver's director of operations and vice president of operations and in 2003 was named president and chief operating officer. He took over as president and CEO in June 2015, succeeding Craig Culver.

Keiser was also a member of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association board of directors.

"He was a mentor to me. He was so thoughtful and so gentlemanly," said Ed Lump, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. "He was a tremendous representative of not only the industry but also of Culver's and is certainly a credit to that company.

"It was a privilege (to work with him)," Lump added. "He was a vibrant guy. It's just a shock. The industry is going to miss him. Culver's is going to miss him. I'm personally going to miss him. Every now and then somebody comes along like that. He was a special person."

Keiser earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Manchester College in Indiana. In addition to the restaurant association board, he was a member of the Manchester University (formerly Manchester College) board of trustees; and the Sauk Prairie Health Care board of directors. Kaiser was a native of Nappanee, Ind.

Survivors include his wife Betsy; sons Nate (Bethany); Nick (Maria); daughter Kelsey; and four grandchildren. Services are scheduled from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at Graceway Church, 65 13th St., Prairie du Sac. Memorial Service, 11 a.m. Saturday at River Arts Center, 105 9th St., Prairie du Sac. Memorials can be made to Heifer International – Ending Hunger and Poverty at https://fundraise.heifer.org/philkeisermemorial, or the FFA National Foundation https://apps.ffa.org/donor/

PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis.