Joan B. Kroc
Encyclopedia
Joan Beverly Kroc was the third wife of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

 CEO Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's 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 fortune during his lifetime...

 and a philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

.

Early life

Kroc was born on August 27, 1928 in West St. Paul, Minnesota
West St. Paul, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,405 people, 8,645 households, and 4,875 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,874.2 people per square mile . There were 8,779 housing units at an average density of 1,752.7 per square mile...

. Her father, Charles Smart Mansfield, was a railroad telegraph operator, and her mother, Gladys Mansfield (née Bonnebelle), was a homemaker and accomplished violinist. She studied music at the MacPhail School of Music
MacPhail Center for Music
The MacPhail Center for Music is a nonprofit music school in a recently opened building in the Mills District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has over 7,750 students, providing instruction at 48 locations outside of its downtown Minneapolis facility on more than 35 instruments...

 in Minneapolis and started teaching at age 15.

Marriage and family

In 1945, she married Rawland F. Smith, a Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 veteran. The couple's only child, a daughter named Linda, was born the following year.

Kroc met McDonald's Corp. founder Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's 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 fortune during his lifetime...

 while playing piano at a bar in St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

 in 1957. 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 married in 1969. Following Kroc's death in 1984, she acquired his fortune.

Philanthropy

Kroc's first philanthropic endeavor was Operation Cork in 1976 in La Jolla
La Jolla, San Diego, California
La Jolla is an affluent, hilly seaside resort community, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California within the northern city limits of San Diego. La Jolla had the highest home prices in the nation in 2008 and 2009; the average price of a standardized...

. It aimed to inform doctors and other health workers about the dangers of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

.

She tried to donate the team to the city of San Diego (the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The 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...

 went on to win their first ever National League
National League
The 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. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 pennant that year), but Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 rules forbid public team ownership. Kroc sold the team in 1990 and turned her attention to philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

. She drew controversy when she alluded to paying star and future Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...

 shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, 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 Smith
Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith is an American former baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996...

 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 (26,304.6 m²)), construction and interior furnishings of the center.

In 2002, Kroc Center
Kroc Center
A Kroc Center is one of many community centers run by the Salvation Army.-Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers:...

, a large Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

 community center that she helped fund—to the tune of $87 million—opened to the public. She later went onto bequest an additional $1.6 billion dollars to open Salvation Army Kroc Centers across the nation, the largest one time give ever recorded. Several institutions in the San Diego area are named after her, including the think tank Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice
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...

 at the University of San Diego
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...

, 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 Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, established and endowed by Joan herself. Kroc preferred to give donations anonymously, but recipient organizations often insisted on publicizing her gifts, hoping to attract new donors.

She also supported the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities and Ronald McDonald House
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Ronald McDonald House Charities is an independent 501c3 organization whose mission is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children across the world...

s.

As Padres owner she started Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

'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 disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear 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....

, which included reprinting the book Missile Envy by Helen Caldicott
Helen Caldicott
Helen Mary Caldicott is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate who has founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons proliferation, war and military action in general. She hosts a...

, as well as publishing ads in major newspapers calling for disarmament. In response, Cal Thomas
Cal Thomas
John Calvin "Cal" Thomas is an American conservative syndicated columnist, pundit, author and radio commentator.-Life and career:...

, a conservative syndicated columnist, called her a "McNut."

She is affectionately known by the citizens of Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...

, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 and East Grand Forks
East Grand Forks, Minnesota
-K-12:The East Grand Forks School District enrolls over 1,000 students and operates two elementary schools , Central Middle School, and East Grand Forks Senior High School. There are also two private Christian schools. Sacred Heart School is a Roman Catholic elementary, middle, and high school...

, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 as the "Angel" because of her anonymous $15 million donation to assist the cities after a devastating flood occurred there in 1997. 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 2003, a bequest of $225 million was made to National Public Radio (NPR) and $5 million to her local public radio station, San Diego's KPBS.

Death

Kroc died of brain cancer
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...

 on October 12, 2003 at Rancho Santa Fe
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, at the age of 75.
In a San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...

article published upon Kroc's death, former San Diego Padre
San Diego Padres
The 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...

 Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...

 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.

Bequests

Her will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...

 included significant bequests for a number of organizations.
  • $1.6 billion for the Salvation Army
    The Salvation Army
    The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

  • $225 million for National Public Radio
  • $50 million for the University of San Diego
    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
    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...

  • $50 million for the University of Notre Dame
    University of Notre Dame
    The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

    '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
    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 Safari Park, and the Institute for Conservation Research. It was founded in 1916 under the leadership of Dr. Harry M...

    , which runs the San Diego Zoo
    San Diego Zoo
    The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...

     and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park
  • $5 million for San Diego's KPBS public radio
    KPBS-FM
    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. The station is affiliated with National Public Radio, with programming...

     and television stations

Posthumous recognition

On August 25, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist and author of six best-selling books. She has received a Peabody Award, and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. As executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of...

 announced that Kroc would be one of 13 California Hall of Fame
California Hall of Fame
Conceived by First Lady Maria Shriver, the California Hall of Fame was established at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts to honor 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 was on December 1, 2009, in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...

, California. Kroc is also featured in the Museum's "California Remarkable Women" exhibition, which was founded by Shriver in 2004.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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