Grand Rapids Community College is mourning the passing of alumnus Edward “Ted” Frey Jr., who supported the college’s life-changing mission with both his time and resources for many years.
Frey, treasurer and secretary of his family’s Frey Foundation, passed away on Monday. He was 77.
The ties between GRCC, Ted Frey and the Frey Foundation go back decades. Frances Frey, who established the foundation with her husband, Edward, earned her associate degree from what was then Grand Rapids Junior College in 1932, and her sons Ted and John followed her path.
The Frey Foundation made its first donation to GRJC in 1974, the year the foundation was established. Since then, the foundation and GRCC have collaborated on early childhood education projects, capital campaigns and the renovation of the Albert P. Smith Music Center.
Dr. Kathryn Mullins, executive director of the GRCC Foundation and vice president of College Advancement, said the Frey Foundation was the first local foundation to support GRCC’s acclaimed early childhood learning laboratory.
“The goals of Ted Frey and the foundation – protecting natural resources, enhancing child development, promoting the arts, and building community – strongly align with what we do,” Mullins said.
“Ted was a proud GRJC alum and foundation board member who knew how a community college education can change lives and wanted to make sure others had opportunities to attend. We will greatly miss his kindness and support. He leaves a tremendous legacy here at GRCC and across the region, and will have an impact on students for generations to come.”
Frey served on the GRCC Foundation board of directors from 1992 to 2001, and the Frey Foundation was honored during the college’s SCHOLARfest fundraiser in 2015.
“One of the great things about the community college is that it covers the whole gamut,” Ted Frey said in an interview. “It’s not just for the young, it’s for the whole community.”
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