KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Martha Gilmore Parfet, the last surviving grandchild of W.E. Upjohn, is dead at the age of 91.
She was an important link to Kalamazoo’s historic past and a community leader in her own right. She was also the granddaughter from another family that changed the face of Kalamazoo. James and Carrie Gilmore opened the department store that was the retail anchor for Downtown Kalamazoo for much of the city’s history.
She was also a long-time champion for the downtown.
Parfet helped bring the Kalamazoo Wings to town and helped create the Kalamazoo Nature Center. She also served on the boards of the Kalamazoo Foundation, the Institute of Arts and the Upjohn Institute.
A public memorial will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners. A private service is planned at Mountain Home Cemetery, where her late husband, Ted Parfet, is buried.
