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MSU donor dies at 99

November 3, 2013

Former Michigan State College, now MSU, alumna and Wharton Center founding member Betty Price died Oct. 20 at her home in Milwaukee.

Price, 99, of Saginaw, Mich., graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from MSU in 1935.

Upon realizing her true calling as a seller of fine jewelry, unique gifts and materials at Liebermann’s Department Store, her legacy as a retailer and philanthropist will live on, friends said.

Donating half of the profits from jewelry sales to the Wharton Center, the MSU College of Music and other projects, Price’s influence can be seen most heavily at the Wharton, where the Betty Price Endowment was created.

Longtime friend and Liebermann’s customer Barbara Cooley mentioned Price’s personality as she reflected on the positive relationship she had with her.

Cooley also described Price’s mind as an encyclopedia of sorts, developing similarly close -knit relationships with people around the world.

“There are probably hundreds of people that would tell you that they were friends with Betty, and that’s just the kind of woman she was,” Cooley said.

In memoriam, the Price family asks that any donations be sent to Wharton, where a memorial service will take place.

A time and date for the memorial service has not yet been announced.

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