Robert Pew
Robert Cunningham Pew II (June 4, 1923 – December 22, 2012) was an American businessman and chairman of Steelcase and played a role in Grand Valley State University's development in the 1980s. Pew joined Steelcase in 1952 and served as official chairman through 1974 until 1999. He became an official member of the GVSU board from 1985 to 1988. In the 1990s, Pew's organization became the world's largest producer and distributor of office furniture.
Personal life
[edit]Pew was born in Syracuse, New York on June 4, 1923. He served in World War II in years 1942 and 1945 and completed over 50 missions as a fighter pilot captain.
In 1989, Ronald Reagan awarded Pew with the National Trust Historic Preservation Award.[1][2] The following year, 1990, Forbes Magazine nominated Pew and his family as one of the world's 25 wealthiest families.
He died in Palm Beach, Florida on December 22, 2012. He died of natural causes, aged 89, preceded in death by his wife Mary Idema Pew, survived by sons Robert Cunningham Pew III and John, daughter Kate Wolters.
References
[edit]- ^ "Longtime Steelcase leader Robert Pew passes away". Michigan Live. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Steelcase's Robert Pew dies at 89". WOOD tv. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
 | This article about an American businessperson born in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1923 births
- 2012 deaths
- Philanthropists from New York (state)
- Businesspeople from Syracuse, New York
- Grand Valley State University people
- United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- 20th-century American philanthropists
- United States Army Air Forces officers
- American World War II fighter pilots
- United States Air Force officers
- United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War
- American business biography, 1920s birth stubs