Scott Koeze, Head of Koeze Company Dies

West Michigan has lost a fine man.  A. Scott Koeze, age 74, died June 19, 2011, at his home outside of Leland, Michigan, from  pancreatic cancer.

Scott graduated from Wyoming Park High School and the University of Miami. Following graduation he returned to Grand Rapids to join his father in the family business, Koeze Company, where he worked supervising manufacturing. When his father died suddenly in 1966, Scott was thrust into the role of running the business, a task for which he was virtually unprepared, confessing "until my Dad died I'd never even set foot in the office."

When he did enter the office, he learned that the company was essentially bankrupt. Notwithstanding the obstacles, he soon built Koeze Company into a significant national manufacturer of peanut butter and specialty nuts.

Scott retired in 1997 and poured his energy into running his northern Michigan ranch. From childhood he had a special love of horses, and he bred first Paso Fino and then Friesian horses on the ranch. He also was an avid collector of cowboy art and western antiques. Nearly every morning he could be found in a Leelanau County coffee shop preparing for ranch work over coffee with his friend and sidekick, Panta Leon.

Scott was a quiet and generous supporter of many charities, including Grand Valley State University, where his mother, Ella Koeze, served as a founding member of the university's governing board.

Scott will be greatly missed.