Political and business leader George S. Pillsbury dies at 91 ...

George S. Pillsbury ( Pioneer Press file photo)

George S. Pillsbury, a former state senator and one of the last family members to be involved with the company that bears his surname while it was headquartered in the Twin Cities, died Saturday, Oct. 13. He was 91.

"There's a person who was given a lot and gave much more back," said former Gov. Arne Carlson. "The truth is, we just aren't making people like him anymore."

Pillsbury was born into one of the Minnesota's wealthiest families. In 1869, his great-grandfather Charles A. Pillsbury had arrived here from New Hampshire and bought a one-third share of the Minneapolis Flour Mill at St. Anthony Falls. By 1887, it was the largest flour mill in the world, and bags of its product bore a logo -- "Pillsbury's BEST Flour" -- that became as frequent a sight in kitchens across the country as would the red spoon logo of Pillsbury's cross-town rival, General Mills' Betty Crocker.

George S. Pillsbury, who graduated from Blake School in Hopkins and later from Yale University, served as a Republican state senator from 1971 to 1982. He was for decades a prominent figure in state Republican politics.

"He had such a wonderful sense of people," said Duane Benson, who was a freshman Republican state senator during the twilight of Pillsbury's political era. "I think some of it was from the Pillsbury business, some of it was from politics, some of it was from being with (his wife) Sally."

Pillsbury created waves when he stepped back from active involvement because he

thought the party had turned too conservative.

"He and Sally were major forces in the Republican party," Carlson said. "They epitomized the 'moderate Republican' -- strong on human rights, strong on the safety net in society and strong in building business and jobs. They had the courage to stand out against the party as it moved to the far right, and I will always respect him for that."

As a director at Pillsbury Co., Pillsbury often was the face of the company's civic engagement and involvement.

"From the university to Orchestra Hall, I can't think of a single project in this state that didn't have the fingerprints of George and Sally," Carlson said.

Pillsbury Co. was sold to British firm Grand Metropolitan in 1989, and General Mills bought the Pillsbury brand in 2001.

Pillsbury lived in Wayzata. He served in the Marine Corps in the Philippines in the 1940s. He and his wife had four children.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_21768091/george-s-pillsbury-dies-at-91?source=rss

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