FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — Wally Bronner, whose Christmas retail empire made Frankenmuth one of Michigan’s most popular tourist destinations, has died. He was 81.

On Easter Sunday, March 24, Bronner announced to his staff he had inoperable cancer. In the letter he wrote, “our loving Lord and Savior, the Christ of Christmas, is ready to receive me into His heavenly kingdom where all believers in the creator God will be with Him forever and ever.”

Bronner turned over the day-to-day operations of the family business to the second generation in 1998 but had remained active in the business.

Shoppers from all over the country have come for years to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland to take in what is touted as the world’s largest Christmas store.

Despite its standing as a must-see locale, Bronner always strove to keep his store’s focus on the Nativity and Christian tradition.

He was born on March 9, 1927, in Frankenmuth and leaves behind a wife, Irene, son Wayne and his wife Lorene, daughter Carla and her husband Bob, son Randy, daughter Maria Sutorik and her husband Christopher, and five grandsons: Dietrich and Garrett Bronner; and Ryan, Paul and Greg Spletzer.

“Of course it’s difficult because everyone misses Wally,” said Bronner’s spokesperson Lori Libka. “But Wally had a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is with him now.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests are that memorials be made to St. Lorenz Lutheran Church Foundation, the Salvation Army, the Gideons, or the City of Frankenmuth Beautification Fund.

Funeral arrangements will be made by Cederberg Funeral Home, 590 N. Franklin in Frankenmuth.