COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 22, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Bob Evans Farms Founder Bob Evans died Thursday, June 21, from complications of pneumonia at 12:30 p.m., at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
He is survived by his wife Jewell (Waters) Evans, five of his six children and his twelve grandchildren. They resided in southeastern Ohio where they had raised their six children.
Born in 1918 in the rural Ohio town of Sugar Ridge, the 89-year-old Evans (born May 30, 1918) was raised in Gallia County, Ohio. He opened a small truck stop in Gallipolis, Ohio, in 1946 and began making his own sausage. Evans and other family members incorporated as Bob Evans Farms in 1953.
"Bob Evans was a visionary. He started his business with a 12-stool, 24-hour diner and began a company that today has sales of more than $1.7 billion," said Bob Evans Farms Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Steve Davis. "But equally important, Bob Evans was a friend as well as an inspiration to many. His dedication to quality and customers is his legacy to the company that bears his name. Bob Evans was loved and will be missed by all who knew him."
Davis added, "His dedication and commitment to the industry helped make Bob Evans Farms the company it is today. He had a real love for the customers, the employees and the restaurants. Throughout his life, he was an idea man. Whether it was for the company or for a charitable cause, Bob never had a shortage of ideas."
Bob Evans retired as president of Bob Evans Farms on Dec. 31, 1986. After retiring from Bob Evans Farms, Evans spent much of his time working for farming causes. The only person in Ohio to be honored three times by the National Wildlife Federation, Bob Evans spent more than 40 years preserving wildlife. A strong supporter of youth organizations such as 4-H and Future Farmers of America, Evans is a former member of the Ohio Board of Regents, the state's public higher education governing board. Evans spent his last decade as a promoter of the concept of year-round grazing as a way to help maintain the traditional family farms in America.
Details on the memorial service and funeral arrangements will be forthcoming.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (Nasdaq:BOBE) owns and operates 579 full-service, family restaurants in 18 states primarily located in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States. In addition, the company operates 115 Mimi's Cafe casual restaurants located in 20 states, primarily in California and other western states. Bob Evans Farms, Inc. is also a leading producer and distributor of pork sausage and a variety of complementary homestyle convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names. For more information about Bob Evans Farms, Inc., visit the company's Web site at www.bobevans.com.
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