IN MEMORIAM

The food industry said goodbye to several friends in 1999.

following:

Abe Baker, 95, founder of Baker's Supermarkets, Omaha, Neb. Baker died in January after several years of failing health. Baker's, founded in 1947, operates 22 stores in Nebraska and Oklahoma and was sold to Fleming Cos., Oklahoma City, in 1992.

Arthur Charles, 88, former executive director of the Maine State Grocers Association. Charles, who died in August, co-founded the association with his father in 1936 and served as its executive director until his retirement in 1983.

Harry Thomas Flynne, 74, a former executive of Grand Union Co., Wayne, N.J. Flynne, who died in May, spent 38 of his 50-year industry career with Grand Union, serving as vice president of merchandising at the time of his retirement in 1987.

Robert K. Fox, 81, former president of the Food Employers Council in southern California, a consortium that represented supermarkets in labor negotiations. Fox, the council's first president, served from 1957 until his retirement in 1982.

Isadore (Zip) Lemmerman, 74, a retired executive of Pathmark Stores, Carteret, N.J. Lemmerman died in March following complications associated with diabetes and a heart attack. He joined Pathmark in 1969 and eventually became executive vice president of merchandising prior to his retirement in 1993.

Joseph P. Noble, 70, former regional vice president of Fleming Cos., Oklahoma City. Noble, who died in January of undisclosed causes, spent 22 years with the distributor in a variety of positions, including head of its Kansas City, Wichita and Mid-America divisions.

John J. Olszeski, 67, president and founder of Hartville Foods, Hartville, Ohio. Olszeski, who died in September after a brief illness, oversaw four Giant Eagle supermarkets in northeast Ohio.

Quentin Reynolds, 93, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif. Reynold, who died in July following a long illness, spent 51 years wtih Safeway and its predecessor company, Skaggs Cash Stores, working his way up from part-time clerk to president in 1966, chief executive officer in 1969 and chairman in 1971. He retired from Safeway in 1977.

Allen C. Tennenbaum, 48, owner of Great Savings Grocery, Atlanta. Tennenbaum, one of the victims in late July of a disgruntled day-trader, was gunned down during a visit to a friend at an Atlanta-area brokerage.