GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Lena Rader Meijer, the philanthropic wife of Meijer grocery store magnate Frederik Meijer, died Saturday, Jan. 15 at the age of 102.

Meijer, who also served on the Meijer Board of Administrators, is being remembered by her spouse and children as a loving spouse, mom, grandmother and terrific-grandmother.

“The blessings of a prolonged and fruitful lifetime outweigh the sorrow with the passing of our mom, Lena Meijer,” reported a assertion from Hank Meijer, Govt Chairman of Meijer. “Her gracious, providing spirit and dedication to her household, our corporation and our group had been over and above evaluate and appreciated by lots of. She will be greatly skipped.”

A non-public family members ceremony is prepared to honor Lena Meijer.

Relevant: Fred Meijer, West Michigan billionaire grocery magnate, dies at 91

Born on Could 14, 1919 to German immigrants, Lena Meijer grew up on a family members farm in the vicinity of Lakeview, Michigan the place she spent her childhood operating on the farm, gardening and milking cows.

Just after learning to come to be a trainer at Central Michigan College, Meijer was hired by Hendrik Meijer to be a cashier at the original Meijer retail store in 1940, her obituary says. 4 yrs later, she met the grocer’s son, Fred Meijer, and the two went on their first date at a local community barn dance.

Fred and Lena Meijer obtained married in 1946 and moved to Grand Rapids five yrs later on.

Lena Meijer then devoted herself to her spouse and children, elevating 3 sons, Hank, Doug and Mark, and volunteering at Grand Rapids Public Educational institutions as a member of the Aberdeen University PTA. More than the many years, she also partnered with her husband on his developing chain of Meijer retail merchants, attending retail outlet openings and group member dinners.

Meijer, a spouse and children-operated grocery retail store chain based mostly in Grand Rapids, now has 258 outlets in six states.

Related: Customers respond to Meijer brothers’ personal tribute to their mother

Fred and Lena Meijer, who have been married for 65 several years, enjoyed touring with each other. They frequented to 6 continents the place they embarked on adventures like camel driving, sizzling-air balloon flights, golf tournaments and biking excursions, in accordance to an obituary.

The Meijers ended up also actively included in supporting the Grand Rapids…