WGVU Meijer Public Broadcasting Center's namesake dies at 91

Frederik G.H. Meijer, a billionaire grocery magnate and philanthropist whose famous generosity benefited Michigan and whose name resides on the Meijer Public Broadcast Center at Grand Valley State University's Grand Rapids campus, died Friday (Nov. 25). He was 91.

"Fred's support for PBS and NPR has enriched the lives of everyone who watches television and listens to radio in West Michigan," Michael Walenta, general manager at WGVU, said in a statement. "We will be forever in his debt."

Meijer was No. 60 on this year's Forbes 400 Richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $5 billion.

Here's his obituary in the Grand Rapids Press, which notes, "he delighted in seeing what his money could do for the area’s hospitals, colleges and cultural institutions."