2006 Obituaries

Keith S. Barrett, 83, former chairman of the Utah Food Industry Association and a director of Associated Food Stores, Salt Lake City.

Donald Fry, 92, a founder of Fry's Food Stores, which is now a division of Kroger Co., Cincinnati. Fry and his brother founded Fry's in Northern California in the 1950s. The banner was sold in 1972 to Dillon Cos., Hutchinson, Kan., which was later acquired by Kroger.

Jack B. Cole, 92, son of Brown & Cole Stores founder George H. Cole, who operated the Bellingham, Wash.-based company with his wife, Monie, for more than 40 years. He retired in 1986.

Morton H. Sigel, founder of Millbrook Distribution Services, Leicester, Mass. Sigel launched Millbrook in 1960. McKesson Corp. acquired Millbrook in 1986, and Sigel remained there until 1990.

Robert B. Wegman, 87, chairman of Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y. He grew the family business into one of the nation's most respected supermarket chains, known for its innovation in food retailing. Wegman joined the company in 1937 and become a store manager in 1947. He became president in 1950 and chairman in 1969.

Charles G. Cullum, 89, co-founder of The Cullum Cos., Dallas, which operated Tom Thumb Stores. Cullum and his late brother took over five bankrupt stores in 1948 and renamed the stores Tom Thumb. Cullum helped run the firm until 1988, when it was sold in a leveraged buyout. Cullum Cos. was acquired in 1992 by Randalls Food Markets, Houston, which was subsequently acquired by Safeway in 1999.

Ben Schuster, 85, the last surviving co-founder of Food-A-Rama Super Markets, Baltimore. He opened the first Food-A-Rama in 1960 in partnership with two brothers-in-law, Dave and Paul Diamond. The company expanded in the 1970s and 1980s through several acquisitions. The 48-unit chain was sold in early 1985 to one of its wholesale suppliers, at which time the partners retired.

Vito A. Urgesi, 47, president of the Fresno, Calif., division of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Keene, N.H. He previously held the position under Fleming Cos., before Fleming's California operations were acquired by C&S in 2003.

Terry Harmon, 66, chairman and chief executive officer of Harmons Grocery Stores, Salt Lake City, Utah. He succeeded his father, Jake Harmon, who founded the business in 1932, and was chairman when he died in 1976.

Bertram Loeb, 90, spread the IGA banner across Canada and had a grocery chain bearing his name. He grew his father's wholesale business by buying Canada's first IGA franchise and spreading the banner among Canadian independents, and into the United States and Israel, before exiting the grocery business in 1977.