Henry Thomas Segerstrom was born in Santa Ana, Calif., to a Swedish immigrant family of farmers who were the largest independent producers of lima beans in the United States in the 1940s. He would introduce himself as a farmer throughout his life, but Segerstrom made his reputation as a hugely successful real estate developer and arts patron.
Segerstrom, '46, MBA '48, died on February 20 at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., after a brief illness. He was 91.
After entering Stanford in 1940, Segerstrom left to join the Army following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. He fought in Europe and was injured during the Battle of the Bulge, losing a finger on his right hand. Later he would undergo multiple surgeries and teach himself to write left-handed.
Upon receiving his MBA, he joined the family agricultural business, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons. The Orange County company soon shifted its focus from farming to real estate and commerce, developing the county's first air-conditioned office building, a United California Bank in Santa Ana.
In 1962, Segerstrom began to develop plans for South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, despite public skepticism that the area could support a shopping complex of luxury retailers. Segerstrom courted Nordstrom for 10 years, persuading the department store to open its first location outside the Pacific Northwest, and prevailed upon high-end fashion designers such as Hermès, Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci to open boutiques there as well. South Coast Plaza is currently the highest-grossing mall in the country, with annual sales of more than $1.5 billion.
Robert Chavez, president and CEO of Hermès of Paris, says, "The moment you met Henry, you believed in Henry. Whatever his vision—whether it involved the best in retail or setting a new standard for philanthropy—it was irresistible."
In 1979, the Segerstrom family donated five acres across from the shopping center plus millions of dollars to build the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Renamed the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in 2011, the world-class complex now occupies 14 acres, including the new Renee and Henry Segerstrom Center Hall.
Segerstrom was married to his first wife, Yvonne, for 31 years. After their divorce in 1981, he married Renee, an arts fund-raiser. Following her death in 2000, he married his third wife, Elizabeth Macavoy, a clinical psychologist.
In addition to his wife, Segerstrom is survived by his children, Andrea Grant, Toren and Anton; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Julie Muller Mitchell, '79, is a writer in San Francisco.
