A business Icon is gone

I received this message earlier today with sad but not unexpected news of the passing of Jay Van Andel

From: Doug DeVos

Subject: Death of Jay Van Andel, Amway Co-Founder and Former Chairman

It is with deep regret that I inform you that Jay Van Andel, co-founder and former chairman of Amway, died at his Ada home on Tuesday, December 7, 2004. He was 80.

Jay truly loved this business and meant more to this company than I can express. His strength and leadership helped us become what we are today Ð a leading symbol of opportunity and free enterprise to the thousands of employees and millions of independent business owners who work with us.

Dad had this to say about Jay: "Jay was the solid rock upon which our company was built and the best business partner a person could have."

He was inspirational in his religious faith and devotion to his family, to the Alticor family and the Grand Rapids community. Please join me in remembering Jay and his family in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sadness.

Jay is survived by his sons Steve and Dave; daughters Nan Van Andel and Barb Van Andel-Gaby; and 10 grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty, who passed on January 14, 2004.

We will miss him dearly and his memory will live on as we continue to pursue Alticor's vision.

I met Jay Van Andel in 1978. Even then, to me, he was larger than life. While Rich DeVos was for the most part the public face of Amway, Jay was the mortar that held everything together. He made sure the infrastructure was solid and that all the "i's were dotted and t's crossed"

Everyone relates Jay and Rich to Amway, but many don't realize that before Amway, even before Nutrilite there was Wolverine Air. The flight service company provided flight instruction and charter services.

Since Wolverine Air was a daytime operation, the boys decided to open a drive-in restaurant since their nights were free. So in May of 1947 the Riverside Drive-Inn Restaurant was born. Rich and Jay took turns at cooking and car-hopping. They even offered canoe rides on the Grand River.

They were introduced to Nutrilite Supplements by Neil Maskaant, Jay's coousin. Eventually they would buy Nutrilite and it would eventually become part of Amway. I think a hallmark of Jay's and Rich's integrity is the fact that even though they purchased Nutrilite and started an entirely separate Amway Their original sponsor in Nutrilite was paid his commission on all the sales of the Amway Corporation. His descendants still receive payment to this day.

Jay's success vividly emphasizes the fact that successful people will be successful regardless of their endeavour. Jay's name is associated with MLM and rightfully so, since he is one of the icons of the industry. But in a larger sense he is an icon for all business. We could all learn a valuable lesson from Jay. To this day, I remember his words from the summer of 1978: "It doesn't matter what course you follow, only that you follow your selected course with drive, desire and determination. If you decide to be a ditch digger, decide as well to be the very best ditch digger in the business."