[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 105 (Tuesday, July 8, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4262-S4263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING PETER M. WEGE
Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, on July 7, Michigan lost a great
champion. Over his 94 years, Peter M. Wege accomplished many lifetimes
worth of goals. He helped the company his father founded, Steelcase,
into one of the world's leading office furniture companies, employing
thousands of Michiganians and helping cement the status of Grand Rapids
as the world's hub of office furniture making. And had he done no more
than lead a great company and provide jobs to great workers, he would
be worthy of celebration.
But as his hometown paper, the Grand Rapids Press, described him with
typical West Michigan understatement, Pete Wege was ``an unconventional
industrialist.'' In a community that has benefited greatly from the
public spirit of its business leaders, few have rivaled the impact of
this remarkable man. Always aware of his good fortune and of the needs
of his community, he poured money that could have made him one of the
world's wealthiest people into the Grand Rapids area and beyond.
Libraries and schools, theaters and museums, churches and civic
buildings, parks and wilderness areas all benefitted from his
generosity and vision.
And he had those two qualities--generosity and vision--in abundance.
He was more than a philanthropist; he was a man on a mission. That
mission began when he was on another kind of mission, serving his
country during World War II, when he flew as a transport pilot.
Piloting an aircraft to Pittsburgh during the war, the landing field
was so shrouded in smog that he couldn't land. That polluted air
launched him on a lifetime of dedication to environmental causes. He
created the Wege Foundation in 1967 to promote educational, cultural,
environmental and scientific efforts. Two years later, he established
the Center for Environmental Study. He wrote two books laying out his
argument that environmental stewardship would boost the economy, rather
than harming growth.
Perhaps nowhere was Pete Wege's impact more strongly felt than in his
love for the Great Lakes. In 2004, he sponsored the Healing Our Waters
conference in Michigan. His agenda was simple and powerful: ``The lakes
are our life support system, and we've got to treat them that way,'' he
said. The conference brought together environmental leaders from across
the country, and led to publication of a report on the need for a plan
to restore the Great Lakes. That powerful call helped lead to the Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has devoted millions of dollars to
habitat restoration and environmental cleanup on the lakes. The Healing
our Waters Coalition continues today to advocate for restoration and
preservation of the lakes Pete Wege cared about so deeply.
Peter Wege dedicated his life to preserving this world's natural
beauty, and to promoting the beauty that humankind creates. His legacy
will live in the cleaner waters of the Great Lakes he loved, and in the
artistic and scientific endeavors he helped to promote. He represents
the best part of Michigan, the best part of America, that part that
celebrates what makes our world and its people so irreplaceable. I will
miss him and Michigan will miss him.
Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I too wish to pay tribute to a great
industrialist who became an even greater philanthropist, a passionate
protector of our Great Lakes, and a dear friend, Peter Wege, who passed
away yesterday at the age of 94.
A man of profound faith, with a deep love for his country, Peter was
born in Grand Rapids, MI. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941,
Peter left the University of Michigan to serve his country as a multi-
engine pilot for the Army Air Force.
When he returned from World War II, he became a salesman for an
office furniture company founded by his father. He wasn't given any
breaks--he was forced to rise through the company by virtue of his own
hard work, not his name.
He eventually became vice chairman of that company, whose name was
changed to Steelcase, Inc., in 1954. The company became the world's
largest manufacturer of office furniture, and Peter was eager to use
the wealth he had earned to make a difference in the many causes that
mattered to him.
Through the Wege Foundation, Peter made generous donations to the
arts, to education, to health care, and to other human services.
His greatest passion, however, was the environment and our beautiful
Great Lakes.
When he gave money to be used for the construction of a building,
Peter never asked to see his name in gold. He only wanted the building
to be green: He insisted on sustainable, LEED-certified design.
I can remember how proud Peter was to give me a book he had written.
The title ``Economicology,'' was a word he coined to describe his
belief that you could make profits without making pollution.
As an outgrowth of his love for Michigan, Peter was a champion for
the Great Lakes: His sponsorship of the ``Healing Our Waters''
conference brought conservationists and environmentalists from around
the world. This helped provide the vision for the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative, which has provided over $1 billion in funding
for nearly 3,000 projects around the Great Lakes since 2010.
Throughout his life, Peter strived to make the world a better place
for future generations. In that respect--as in every other endeavor he
devoted himself to--Peter was an unqualified success.
He will be deeply missed, but Peter's generous spirit will live on.
Peter will be remembered every time a child plays in the sand on one
of our beautiful Michigan beaches.
Peter will be remembered every time a family gathers around a dinner
table to enjoy fish caught in one of our beautiful Great Lakes or the
many fresh, clean rivers and streams across the region.
[[Page S4263]]
Peter will be remembered with every refreshing glass of clean water
that comes from the tap and every invigorating breath of fresh air.
He will never be forgotten.
____________________