Former Albertsons CEO Warren McCain Dies at 82

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

BOISE, Idaho — Funeral services are pending here for Warren E. McCain, retired chief executive officer of Albertsons, who died Saturday at age 82. McCain — who worked closely with chain founder Joe Albertson and who served as CEO from 1976 until 1991 — is credited with helping Albertsons move from a localized chain in Idaho into a major national player. He joined the company in 1959 and moved rapidly from the stores to become district manager and division president in Denver, then back to headquarters as president and, ultimately, in 1976, CEO of the chain. According to local lore, Joe Albertson reportedly once said, “I built some grocery stores, and I got rich. And then I hired Warren McCain to run them, and I got filthy rich.” After his retirement, McCain donated considerable funds to a middle school named after him, and he and his wife Bernice also created scholarships and a humanities chair at the College of Idaho, including half of the $3 million that created the McCain Student Center. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren; a son died in 1995.

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