Irene Bronner, Matriarch of Christmas Wonderland, Dies at 95

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – Irene Bronner, the matriarch of one of Michigan’s most unique institutions, has passed away.

your obituary Cederberg Funeral Home Frankenmuth says she died on Sunday. She was 95 years old.

The Bronner name is well known throughout Michigan. Bronner’s CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND has been drawing families across the state to the cheerful store for decades. Considered the largest holiday shop in the world, Bronner’s is known for its wide range of holiday items, including personalized stockings and ornaments.

Irene Pretzer, born in 1927, married Wallace “Wally” Bronner in 1951, six years after opening his own “small sign shop in Frankenmuth.” She worked as a school teacher in Frankenmuth and Buena Vista before eventually joining the staff of Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland and holding many roles including a seat on the store’s board of directors.

Bronner is survived by her four children and their families. Wally Bronner died in 2008.

A funeral service will take place on Saturday in the Lutheran Church of St. Lorenz in Frankenmuth.