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Peter Secchia passes away at 83

"All-School Movie Night! Gerald R. Ford: A Test of Character" by University of Michigan's Ford School is licensed with CC BY-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

West Michigan philanthropist and entrepreneur Peter Secchia died on Wednesday at his home. He was 83. Secchia had recently contracted COVID-19.

Secchia was a heavy weight fundraiser for numerous Republican Party candidates over decades. He once served as the vice chair of the Republican-National-Committee.

Secchia was close to the late President Gerald R. Ford. Later, President George H. W. Bush named him as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy.

Secchia was a Michigan State University graduate. The headquarters for M.S.U.’s College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids is named after him.

A family spokeswoman says Secchia had been experiencing health issues for months. She says COVID-19 was a contributing factor in his death.