Marvin Girouard, former Pier 1 chief, remembered as business pioneer, civic leader
Internationally, nationally and locally, Marvin Girouard is being remembered as a man with a mission to give back wherever he left his footprint.
Girouard, 80, died Saturday at a Fort Worth hospital.
He was the retired chief operating officer and chairman of Pier 1 imports, as well as a philanthropist, community builder, family man and a good friend, according to those who knew him.
Girouard worked at Pier 1 imports for 32 years. He was CEO from 1998 until his retirement on Feb. 19, 2007, according to a news release from Pier 1 at the time.
Greenwood Funeral Home in Fort Worth confirmed it will hold a private service for Girouard.
Len Roberts, former CEO of Radio Shack, said he has been close friends with Girouard and his wife, Felice, since 1995, and had communicated with him in some form or fashion every day.
The couples would come back from their outings in pain because of all of the laughter, Roberts said.
There will be a private service for the immediate family soon, and then a more public memorial once the coronavirus pandemic is over, said Roberts, who has been in touch with the family.
Girouard tested negative for the coronavirus, which is important for the family as it comes together to grieve, Roberts said. Arrangements were made for Girouard’s wife and priest to join him at the hospital as his condition worsened, which was also important for the family, Roberts said.
“For him, there has only been Felice, and you loved to be around them because of his love for her,” Roberts said. “It pains me to think about what this is doing to Felice. You cannot write his story without her. Everything he did, he did for her.”
But they were not the only people who loved him, Roberts said. So many of his employees he had spoken with said they loved knowing and working for Girouard, Roberts said. Girouard had a confidence about him, and confidence in the team he had assembled, an assurance that whatever came his way they would come out the other side as winners, Roberts said.
“He said with the right kind of leadership you could inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things,” Roberts said.
But with all that, there was a humility Girouard possessed that made him approachable, his friends said.
“He said that after I retire as a corporate CEO, for the first three years, I would still be part of the who’s who, but after five years, I would become part of the who cares and then after 10 years, I would be part of the who’s that,” Roberts said.
“I was blessed to be in communication with him every single day,” Roberts said. “I don’t know anyone who knows more about my life than Marvin. I will miss him.”
Girouard also truly loved music, and his friends said he was good with a guitar, according to Pam Minick, co-owner of Fort Worth’s Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky-tonk.
He absolutely loved classic country music, Minick said. When Girouard would start talking about country, his face would break out in a big grin.
He became friends with some of the stars that would come to Billy Bob’s, and played golf with country singer Charley Pride, she said. Girouard understood all the hurdles they had to overcome, and, especially as their careers entered their twilight, Girouard wanted those musicians to know that they were appreciated, Minick said.
“I would give him free tickets all the time and he would never take them,” Minick said. “He always said he wanted to support the artists.”
Joy Rich, 55, said she was a family friend of the Girouards for more than 30 years and worked with him at Pier 1 for more than 20 years. His death is a huge loss to the community, Rich said.
Girouard was a pioneer in product placement and cause branding, Rich said.
Pier 1 had an international partnership with UNICEF, a national partnership with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and, locally, Pier 1 partnered with the adopt-a-school program, Rich said. UNICEF, the United Nations children’s fund, aids children worldwide, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation fights breast cancer and the adopt-a-school program focuses on strengthening local schools and teachers.
“Whenever we would open a new store we would find a local charity and invite them to come into our store and give 20% back to the community,” Rich said. “He knew it was good business but he did it because it was the right thing to do.”
Former Fort Worth Mayor Ken Barr, who was friends with Mr. Girouard for about 25 years, said Pier 1 and Radio Shack parent Tandy Corp. were among the top businesses in Fort Worth while he was in office from 1996-2003.
“He worked hard to make sure Pier 1 was a good place to work,” Barr said. “I think he was very successful at that. He greatly regretted the hard times that had fallen on Pier 1. And Marvin was strongly committed to his family. He was very involved with Felice, his wife, and their kids. He spoke a lot of what his children were doing. He was very proud of them.”
Girouard was a Vietnam veteran and proud of his time in the service, said Jim Lane, a former Fort Worth city councilman and his contemporary.
“He had a global concept for Fort Worth,” Lane said. “He thought Fort Worth had the ability to grow into a real world class city. We were all so excited when Pier 1 built that building downtown. He was a very unique guy. “
Survivors include his wife, Felice Girouard, and his three children, Jamie Girouard Lewi, Mark Girouard and Jena Girouard Wildrick.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 6:16 PM.
