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Wilmington small business champion Will Minster has died.
Minster, a fourth-generation member of a jeweler family, owned a store in downtown Wilmington and was involved in downtown promotion and turnaround efforts.
“Will was a champion for our city and its people,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “His fighting spirit and determination was evident in his personal life as well as the many years he devoted to supporting the evolution of Wilmington’s downtown district and, more recently, his direct work to empower Wilmington residents to prosper. On behalf of our city, I express condolences to his family and many friends.”
“He was invested completely in our community; he helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and made a significant difference to the business community in Wilmington and Newark,” Ken Grant said in a social media post. Grant, along with Minster, was active in community affairs efforts.
After closing the store following a 25-year run, he managed Wilmington’s Main Street program and served as a commercial real estate agent for Patterson-Woods.
Minster most recently headed The Launcher, a business development program from the West End Neighborhood House, Wilmington.
He followed in the community service footsteps of his mother, the late Marilyn Minster, who owned a Newark jewelry store bearing the family name. The family’s watch and jewelry stores in Newark and Elkton, MD. operated for nearly a century and a quarter.
Marilyn worked for decades to revitalize a fading Main Street in the college town, stitching together an alliance that included merchants, the city, and the University of Delaware. A little more than a decade ago, Newark’s downtown was recognized as one of the top main streets in the nation.