Warman, Retired Fred Meyer Executive, Dies at 77

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Funeral services were held here yesterday for Dale Warman, a longtime executive of Fred Meyer Inc., who died last week at age 77 following a lengthy illness. Warman spent 45 years with Portland, Ore.-based Fred Meyer Inc., ultimately achieving the position of executive vice president. He began his career at the store level, running the food department at one store. According to Jack Crocker, who was president of Fred Meyer at the time, Warman was instrumental in developing a labor scheduling program at his store that was later rolled out chainwide. As a result of this work on labor scheduling, Crocker said he brought Warman into the corporate office, where he held a variety of positions, including director of store operations, head merchandiser for drug and variety and director of sales, before being name a corporate vice president. “Dale had more determination and enthusiasm than anyone I ever worked with,” Crocker told SN yesterday. “He set an example for all of us.” Following his retirement from Fred Meyer, Warman joined the board of Stater Bros. Markets, Colton, Calif., where he served as a director from 1999 until his death. -- Elliot Zwiebach