Jack Eckerd
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Jack Eckerd (May 16, 1913 - May 19, 2004), a native of Tampa, Florida was the former owner of the Eckerd drugstore chain, now owned by Canadian drug store chain Jean Coutu, with roughly 1,500 stores in ten southern states sold to CVS.
The Eckerd chain was founded by his father, J. Milton Eckerd, in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1890. After serving as a transport pilot during World War II, Jack Eckerd expanded the chain by buying three stores in Florida in 1952. The chain went public as Jack Eckerd Corp. in 1961 and when Eckerd sold his shares in 1986, there were about 1500 stores. The chain was later sold to J.C. Penney, who in turn sold the stores (now numbering close to 2600) to rivals CVS and Jean Coutu. Stores in ten states from Florida west to Arizona will become CVS; the remaining stores, from Georgia north to New York, will remain with Eckerd Corporation, run by Jean Coutu's US arm along with its New England-based Brooks chain.
In the 1970s he attempted to enter politics as a Republican, running failing campaigns twice for the governorship of Florida and once for the U.S. Senate. His personal finances were estimated in 1975 by Forbes Magazine at $150 million.
With the millions he made, Eckerd became a philanthropist. Florida Presbyterian College changed its name to Eckerd College following a $12.5 million contribution. Ruth Eckerd Hall, a performing arts center in Clearwater, Florida was named for his wife.
Always a businessman to the core, Eckerd always introduced himself as "Jack Eckerd - Clearwater, Florida". He died on May 19, 2004, from pneumonia.
External link
- St. Petersburg Times obituary (http://sptimes.com/2004/05/20/Tampabay/A_giant_of_generosity.shtml)
- Eckerd homepage (http://www.eckerd.com)