Joan Beverly Kroc (born
Mansfield) (August 27, 1928–October 12, 2003) was the third wife of
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. At one time it was the largest global restaurant chain, but it has since been surpassed by multi-brand operator Yum! and sandwich chain Subway.In addition to its...
CEO
Ray KrocRaymond "Ray" Albert Kroc was an American businessman who took over the small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million...
and a
philanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Kroc was born 1928 in
West St. Paul, MinnesotaWest Saint Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, immediately south of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The quirky naming in part comes from the fact that the city is on the "west" bank of the Mississippi River—the river flows toward the east at this point. A previous City of West St...
. Her father worked for a railroad and her mother was an accomplished violinist. She studied music at the MacPhail School of Music in
MinneapolisMinneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
and started teaching at age 15. In 1945 she married Roland Smith, a
NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
veteran and they had her only child the next year.
Kroc met her future husband, McDonald's Corp. founder
Ray KrocRaymond "Ray" Albert Kroc was an American businessman who took over the small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million...
, in 1957 while playing piano at a bar in St.
Joan Beverly Kroc (born
Mansfield) (August 27, 1928–October 12, 2003) was the third wife of
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. At one time it was the largest global restaurant chain, but it has since been surpassed by multi-brand operator Yum! and sandwich chain Subway.In addition to its...
CEO
Ray KrocRaymond "Ray" Albert Kroc was an American businessman who took over the small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million...
and a
philanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Biography
Kroc was born 1928 in
West St. Paul, MinnesotaWest Saint Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, immediately south of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. The quirky naming in part comes from the fact that the city is on the "west" bank of the Mississippi River—the river flows toward the east at this point. A previous City of West St...
. Her father worked for a railroad and her mother was an accomplished violinist. She studied music at the MacPhail School of Music in
MinneapolisMinneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
and started teaching at age 15. In 1945 she married Roland Smith, a
NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
veteran and they had her only child the next year.
Kroc met her future husband, McDonald's Corp. founder
Ray KrocRaymond "Ray" Albert Kroc was an American businessman who took over the small-scale McDonald's Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a $500 million...
, in 1957 while playing piano at a bar in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kroc said in his autobiography that he "was stunned by her blond beauty". They carried on a secret relationship until they both divorced their spouses and they married in 1969.
Philanthropy
Kroc's first philanthropic endeavor was Operation Cork in 1976 in La Jolla.
It aimed to inform doctors and other health workers about the dangers of
alcoholismAlcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences...
.
Her husband died in January 1984, leaving her his fortune and the
San Diego PadresThe San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times.The Padres are one of four teams...
(who went on to win their first ever
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
pennant that year) baseball team. She tried to donate the team to the city of
San DiegoSan Diego , named after Saint Didacus , is the second-largest city in California and the ninth largest city in the United States, located along the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the United States. The US Census Bureau estimates the city's population at 1,279,329 as of 2008...
, but
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
rules forbid public team ownership. Kroc sold the team in 1990 and turned her attention to
philanthropyPhilanthropy is the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.- Definition :It is generally agreed that the word was coined 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, by the playwright Aeschylus, or whom ever else wrote Prometheus Bound...
. She drew controversy when she alluded to paying star and future Hall of Fame
shortstopShortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Ozzie SmithOsborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith is a retired American professional baseball player who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Nicknamed "The Wizard," Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National League Gold Glove Award...
to maintain her garden at a time where he was refused a raise by her team's general manager.
The Joan B. Kroc Foundation donated $18.5 million to the San Diego Hospice Corporation (now known as San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine) in 1985 to create its multi-purpose hospice center. The donation covered the cost of planning, land acquisition (6.5 acres), construction and interior furnishings of the center.
In 2002,
Kroc CenterA Kroc Center is one of many community centers run by the Salvation Army.-Kroc Center San Diego:...
, a large
Salvation ArmyThe Salvation Army, an international movement, describes itself as an armed evangelical movement part of the Christian Church. It has a quasi-military structure and was founded in 1865 in the United Kingdom as the East London Christian Liberation Mission by William and Catherine Booth. It is well...
community center that she helped fund -- to the tune of $87 million -- opened to the public. Several institutions in the San Diego area are named after her, including the think tank Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the
University of San DiegoThe University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...
, the St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center for the Homeless in downtown and the Kroc-Copley Animal Shelter in the Morena District.
America’s leading 'Peace' institution is probably the
University of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, Indiana, USA....
’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, established and endowed by Joan herself.
She also supported the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities and Ronald McDonald Houses.
As Padres owner she started
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
's first employee-assistance program for players and staff with drug problems.
Kroc was also active politically. In 1985, she spent millions of dollars in support of
nuclear disarmamentNuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
.
She is affectionately known by the citizens of
Grand ForksGrand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. In July 2007, its population was estimated at 51,740, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 97,691...
,
North DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America; on the Canadian border halfway between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the U.S.; it is the 3
rd least populous, with just over 641,481 residents as...
and
East Grand ForksEast Grand Forks is a city in Polk County, Minnesota in the United States. Its population was estimated at 7,812 in July 2008 making East Grand Forks the largest community in Polk County....
,
MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
as the "Angel" because of her anonymous $15 million donation to assist the cities after a
devastating floodThe Red River Flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997, along the Red River of the North in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826...
occurred there in 1997.
She was often seen at the local homeless shelter anonymously helping out at the meal line and talking to patrons. She was revealed as the source of the funds when reporters tracked down ownership of the jet she used to fly into the area to survey damage.
Upon her death in 2004, a bequest of more than $200 million was made to
National Public RadioNational Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed into law...
(NPR).
Death
Kroc died 2003 of brain cancer at Rancho Santa Fe,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
.
In a San Diego Union-Tribune article published upon Kroc's death, former
San Diego PadreThe San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times.The Padres are one of four teams...
Tony GwynnAnthony Keith Gwynn is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball, statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year career for the San Diego Padres. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 9, 2007 and was inducted on...
said:
- Sadly, in her passing, people will really find out for the first time how much she meant to not only this community but to the world. She did things her way, not for recognition or other considerations but because it was the right thing to do.
- It's a shame that most of us will only now find out the extent of what Joan did. She was a great owner, person and humanitarian. I remember when I declared bankruptcy in 1987. It was my darkest hour. And Joan was there to offer me words of encouragement and to address the team on my behalf.
- She cared about the players and their families. Heck, she cared about everyone on the face of this earth. She loved to help people.
Bequests
Her
willA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his estate and provides for the transfer of his property at death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy...
included significant bequests for a number of organizations.
- $1.6 billion for the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an international movement, describes itself as an armed evangelical movement part of the Christian Church. It has a quasi-military structure and was founded in 1865 in the United Kingdom as the East London Christian Liberation Mission by William and Catherine Booth. It is well...
- $225 million for National Public Radio
National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed into law...
- $50 million for the University of San Diego
The University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs...
's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice
- $50 million for the University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, Indiana, USA....
's Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
- $20 million for the San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care (doing business as "San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine")
- $10 million for the Zoological Society of San Diego
The Zoological Society of San Diego is a non-profit organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, and the Institute for Conservation Research. It was founded in 1916 under the leadership of Dr. Harry M...
, which runs the San Diego ZooThe World Famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California is one of the largest and most progressive zoos in the world with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species. It is also one of the few zoos in the world that houses the giant panda...
and the San Diego Wild Animal ParkThe San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park is a zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in the city and Southern California. The Park houses a large array of wild and endangered animals including species from the continents of Africa,...
- $5 million for San Diego's KPBS public radio
KPBS-FM is a non-commercial public radio station licensed to San Diego State University, broadcasting in San Diego on 89.5 MHz, 89.1 MHz K206AC in La Jolla, and on 97.7 MHz KQVO in Calexico, Imperial County...
and television stations
- $500,000. To one lucky Foundation from Australia.
Posthumous Recognition
On August 25, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger and
Maria ShriverMaria Owings Shriver is an award-winning American journalist and author, and the First Lady of California. She is married to actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is a member of the Kennedy family.-Early life:...
announced that Kroc would be one of 13
California Hall of FameConceived by First Lady Maria Shriver, the California Hall of Fame was established at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts to honor legendary individuals and families who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history...
inductees in The California Museum's yearlong exhibit. The induction ceremony is on December 1, 2009 in
SacramentoSacramento, an Italian-, Spanish- and Portuguese-language word meaning sacrament, is a common toponym in parts of the world where those tongues were or are spoken....
, California. Kroc is also featured in the Museum's "California Remarkable Women" exhibition, which was founded by Shriver in 2004.
External links