Orville D. Merillat

Orville D. Merillat

Orville D. Merillat (1916 – 1999), businessman and philanthropist, was born on a dirt farm in Tedrow, Ohio, on May 1, 1916, he quit school in the ninth grade to work on the family farm. He married Ruth Muller on January 19, 1941, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.

After the war, he started a cabinet-making business with his wife, and became the co-founder, President and CEO of Merillat Industries, Inc., building the business on the principles set forth in Malachi 3:10. Always a team, he and Ruth eventually employed over 3,000 people with more than eleven factories across the United States. Orville retired when the business was sold in 1983 to the Masco Corporation, and his son then became the President of Merillat Industries.

Orville was the recipient of the Michigan Small Business Person of the Year in 1977; co-recipient with Ruth of the National Association of Evangelicals' Laypersons of the Year in 1988; co-founded the Orville and Ruth Merillat Foundation; founded the Christian Family Foundation; was a major benefactor and contributor to Siena Heights College (Now Siena Heights University) in Adrian, Michigan; was a major contributor to Huntington University in Indiana; was a major contributor to Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan; was founder and benefactor of Lenawee Christian School and the Christian Family Centre; was the founder and benefactor of 243-acre (0.98 km2) Michindoh Camp and Conference Center in Hillsdale, Michigan; donated an obstetrics ward to Narsapur Hospital in India; donated a wing to Bixby Hospital in Adrian, Michigan; received an honorary doctorate degree from Huntington College; was the co-author of his autobiography "His Guiding Hand" published by Coral Ridge Ministries in 1992; was a major contributor to the Republican Party; was the father of Richard Merillat; and was the grandfather of Wendy, Collette and Tricia.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Merillat Industries — was founded in Adrian, Michigan as an American manufacturer of kitchen cabinets in 1946 by Orville D. Merillat. Now retired, Richard Merillat, took over from his father as CEO and President. The Merillat Industries corporate headquarters, still… …   Wikipedia

  • Merillat — may refer to: Merillat Industries, an American manufacturer of kitchen cabinets Orville D. Merillat Richard Merillat This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Merillat — is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and the retired President/CEO of Merillat Industries. Born in Adrian, Michigan, his parents were Ruth and Orville D. Merillat, founder of Merillat Industries, Inc., which was acquired by the Masco Corporation in …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from Michigan — A list of notable people from the U.S. state of Michigan. Bolding indicates places in Michigan. People from Michigan are sometimes referred to as Michiganders, Michiganians, or more rarely as Michiganites. Actors, entertainers and… …   Wikipedia

  • Adrian, Michigan — Infobox Settlement official name = Adrian, Michigan settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250px map caption = Location of Adrian, Michigan mapsize1 = map caption1 …   Wikipedia

  • Church of the United Brethren in Christ — For the historic church building near Cincinnati, see United Brethren in Christ (Ohio). The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Huntington, Indiana. It is a Protestant denomination of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of company name etymologies — This is a list of company names with their name origins explained. Some origins are disputed. NOTOC #*20th Century Fox – Film studio; formed in 1935 through the merger of William Fox s Fox Film, and Twentieth Century Pictures. [… …   Wikipedia

  • Huntington University — infobox University name= Huntington University established= 1897 type= Private, 4 year, undergraduate graduate students= 1089 city= Huntington country= USA campus= Small Town website= http://www.huntington.edu motto= The Truth will make you free… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”