VREDENBURG, Dwight Charles
VREDENBURG, PUTNAM, TAYLOR
Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 1/31/2016 at 13:01:42
Biography ~ Dwight Charles Vredenburg
Graceland University, Lamoni, IowaOne of the most successful entrepreneurs from the ranks of Graceland alumni, Dwight Charles Vredenburg expanded a Lamoni grocery store co-founded by his father into a successful and well-recognized Midwest institution.
Dwight was born in Lamoni on January 17, 1914, the son of Dwight Milton and Kate Emaline (Putnam) Vredenburg. He graduated from Lamoni High School in 1931 and enrolled at Graceland the following fall to study music, completing his A.A. degree in 1934. He then switched his field of study to commerce and finished his bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa in 1935.
Dwight began his grocery career sacking beans in the back of his father's Lamoni grocery store. He was promoted to wait on customers when he turned 15. He was the manager of a small general store in Unionville, Missouri, in 1935. He was elected president of his father's Hy-Vee grocery store upon its incorporation in 1938, serving continuously as chairman of the board and chief executive officer until his retirement in 1983. The chain's name was changed to Hy-Vee Food Stores in 1953.
As the chain expanded to 15 stores, Dwight moved the company's offices from Lamoni to Chariton, Iowa, in 1945. Fifty years later, Hy-Vee expanded into the Midwest's largest independent grocery chain, with more than 150 retail outlets in seven states.
Dwight received Graceland's Distinguished Service Award in 1982, and continued to support the college as a member of its Board of Trustees from 1985 to 1988. Dwight retired in 1989.
Dwight served with the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, 1942-1944. Later he served as a member of Chariton School Board, Indian Hills Community Board of Directors, Aeolians Singers; Choir Director RLDS and Methodist Churches. He belonged to the Rotary; Masons; Russell Town Band; and he loved music. Dwight was named Chariton's Citizen of the Year, 1965-66.
On April 25, 1937, at Chillicothe, Missouri, Dwight married Ruth Irene Taylor.
In 1995, he and his wife Ruth (who graduated from Graceland as Ruth Taylor in 1936), completed their $1 million endowment of the Dwight and Ruth Vredenburg Endowed Chair in Music, Graceland's first fully funded academic chair.
Dwight died on February 28, 2002 at Lucas County Health Center, Chariton, Iowa, at the age of 88 years. Ruth Irene (Taylor) Vredenburg was born on June 3, 1915, Centerville, Iowa, and died on December 4, 2004. Dwight and Ruth were interred at Chariton Cemetery, Chariton, Iowa.
SOURCES:
"Who's Who In America." 43rd Edition. Vol. 2 (1984-1985). p. 3365.Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z.” Pp. 443-44. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, January of 2016
Decatur Biographies maintained by Constance McDaniel Hall.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen