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Frederik Meijer, founder of the regional superstore chain bearing his name, died late Friday at age 91.

Meijer died late Friday at a hospital in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich., after suffering a stroke that morning, the Associated Press reported.

Meijer, who was serving as chairman emeritus at the time of his death, is credited with starting the supercenter store format in the 1960s. By 2009, Meijer’s company operated 180 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

Meijer was a native of Greenville, Mich., where his father opened a grocery store in 1934. In 1946, he married Lena Rader, a cashier in that original store. She survives him, along with their three sons, Hank, Doug and Mark.

Meijer helped his father build the family’s tiny grocery store into a chain of supermarkets. In 1962, the chain opened its first Thrifty Acres store in Grand Rapids, a huge one-stop shopping discount emporium. As the company grew, Meijer became known as an advocate of promoting people from within, an outspoken champion of civil rights and a zealot for low prices.

Known to his employees simply as “Fred,” he was known for his competitive spirit and a keen sense of his own humble origins. In industry affairs, he was one of the longest serving directors of the Food Marketing Institute (formerly the Super Market Institute), and winner of its Sidney Raab award for outstanding service.

In his adopted hometown of Grand Rapids, Meijer he played a vital role in the early years of the local Urban League and Goodwill Industries, and helped lead downtown urban renewal efforts. In 1984, he worked with a group of civic leaders to build the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum on the west bank of the Grand River. He also served on the Cleveland District Board of the Federal Reserve.

While the Meijer name became synonymous with many civic and charitable undertakings, many consider Meijer’s most significant contribution to be the 1994 creation of the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, which ranks among the finest in the world, in a complex which has become one of the region’s leading attractions.

A private memorial service will be held Wednesday; public visitation will be held Tuesday at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

The company has set up a memorial website at www.fredmeijermemorial.com/home.

Source: Progressive Grocer