CWU facilities manager retires, capping more than 130 years of family service

The Bach family has enjoyed a lasting relationship with Central Washington University, lending over 130 years of combined service to the university between them.

This summer, former CWU Facilities Manager Joe Bach retired as the last of a group that included his dad Otto, brother Otto Jr., and cousin Glen, all of whom dedicated their careers to the betterment of the university, both in the classroom and as part of the crew keeping campus running smoothly.

Otto Bach Sr. managed the motorpool from 1963 until his retirement in 1985; Otto Bach Jr. worked as a custodian and maintenance technician from 1977 until his retirement in 2020; and Glen Bach was a graphic design professor from 1978 to 2017, earning Emeritus Professor status after 32 years of service.

Joe Bach began his career at Central in 1999, after some years in the meat packing industry had helped him build a solid foundation in the emerging technology of the time.

“All my family’s here, so I was just looking for some stability,” he said. “Once I applied for Central, my experience with electronic inventory systems got me into my housing position, and the rest is history.”

Bach was hired as a maintenance mechanic for Housing and Residence Life, and as an expert in digital recordkeeping, helped construct the system logging furniture inventory to this day.

“All the furniture and appliances throughout Housing are still tracked electronically through the system I helped set up alongside students from the IT department,” he said. “Central is a great place to work, and I loved working for the students and trying to make it a better place for them.”

After 18 years in that position, Bach’s commitment to meeting the needs of students was recognized with a move to the position of housing facilities director, in which he found fresh opportunities to move the university forward.

“When I took over as facilities director for Housing, one of my biggest priorities was getting the inside of the residence halls spruced up,” he said. “The furniture in there was dated, and there were opportunities to convert less-used spaces like ironing rooms into something the students might actually use, like study nooks with whiteboards.”

All the while, Bach was pursuing a craft brewing degree on the side, launching a part-time BBQ business called Taneum Creek BBQ, and enjoying the great outdoors with his growing family, one of whom ended up enrolling at CWU.

“My granddaughter just finished her first year of Running Start here at Central, and now she’s going to pick up at YVC (Yakima Valley College) through the center there and go into nursing,” he said. “I got to visit with her quite a bit in the SURC between her classes, which was a nice full-circle moment.”

With his career behind him and nice pension saved up, Bach looks forward to continuing his love affair with the great outdoors from the business end of a fishing pole.

“I just bought a new boat, and I plan on doing a lot of fishing with it,” he said. “We’re going to go crabbing on the Hood Canal, fishing around the San Juans, and generally just enjoying the outdoors.”

As he reflects on nearly 30 years of service at CWU, and a long Wildcat family legacy, Bach knows that none of it would have been possible without the students who come to Central to create their future.

“If the students aren’t here, we’re not here,” he said. “As a public servant, you’re here to make it a better place for them, and to be ready to meet them with a smile when they need your help. When you see them struggling, point them in the right direction and make sure they find the support they need.”