For LeRoy Henry, customers were the best part of owning Lansing's first Burger King restaurant.
Henry, who died Saturday at age 85, opened his first franchise for the fast-food giant in 1965 on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. That location no longer exists.
Eventually, Henry owned seven other franchises. But what he cared about most was his relationships with people, said his daughter, Jane Pierce.
“He knew everyone and always had a smile on his face,” she said. “We would say, ‘Dad! You can’t talk to these people – we’ve got to take the order.’ ”
Henry, a longtime Lansing resident until the late 1980s, had congestive heart failure. He died at Pierce’s home in Charlotte.
Henry and his wife, Lois, retired in 1990 and sold the franchises to their three daughters – Pierce, Judith Bridger and Gail Farrell. In 1996, the family sold the restaurants.
“For 31 years, we made Whoppers,” Pierce, 60, said. “My dad said he looked forward to going to work.”
After retiring, Henry became an avid biker and a member of Lansing’s Tri-County Bicycle Association.
He accompanied his grandson on long-distance bike trips with deCycles Indiana, a nonprofit Christian youth organization. He also rode the DALMAC bike tour from Lansing to Mackinaw City or DeTour Village five times, Pierce said.