Charles R. Walgreen and his wife, Kathleen B. Walgreen were active in Lake Forest philanthropy. Photo courtesy of Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital Women’s Board.
LAKE FOREST — Charles R. (Cork) Walgreen III, who led the company that bears his family name for 29 of the 58 years he worked there and died September 26 at age 80, was a large part of his hometown of Lake Forest.
Walgreen died at home, according to a news release from the Walgreens Co. Corporate Communications Department. No cause of death was given.
While Walgreen was running Walgreen Co. from 1968 until his retirement as chief executive officer in 1998 and remaining active on its board of directors until 2010, he was also a contributor to Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital and the Gorton Community Center.
Debbie Saran, a Lake Forest resident who is active helping to raise money for both the hospital and Gorton said Walgreen and his wife, Kathleen B. Walgreen, were always there when asked.
“Cork and Kath were backers of Gorton and the hospital in a measurable way,” Saran said. “They were quick to donate and never balked about the amount.”
When the hospital was planning its 2011 benefit, Saran said Walgreen heightened the experience by bringing the Beach Boys to town to entertain at an event that raised approximately $500,000 for the facility.
“Kath and Cork made contact with the Beach Boys, got them to come and underwrote the cost of bringing them to the benefit,” Saran said. “It was a record breaking year for us.”
In 2004, Walgreen donated $2 million to the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, where he obtained a degree years earlier, according to the release. The donation endowed a chair focusing on the socio-economics of health care policies, regulations and ethics.
Walgreen, the grandson of Walgreen founder Charles R. Walgreen, Sr., was born November 11, 1935 to Mary Ann Leslie and Charles R. Walgreen, Jr., according to the release. He eventually followed his grandfather and father to the company’s helm.
Starting his career with the company in his teens, Walgreen began as a stock boy in 1952 working after school and on vacations, according to the release. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in pharmacy, he joined the company as a pharmacist in 1959 at a store on the north side of Chicago.
Progressing up the corporate ladder, Walgreen was a district manager and regional director before becoming vice president in 1968 and president a year later, according to the release. The title of chief executive officer was added in 1971 and he became chairman in 1976. He held both jobs until his retirement in 1998. He remained on the board as chairman emeritus until 2010.
During his tenure leading, Walgreen removed some of the diversity like Wags, a freestanding restaurant, and a merchandise mix that he said did not belong in a drugstore, according to the release. He focused on pharmacy services with additional emphasis on health care items, beauty and photo.
While Walgreen was leading the company, the company grew from 561 stores in 1971 to more than 2,400 as sales grew from $817 million to $13 billion, according to the release. One of his six sons, Kevin Walgreen, is a company senior vice president.
Beside Lake Forest Hospital and the Gorton Center, he was active with Junior Achievement Chicago. He was a member of Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, the Sailfish Point Golf Club in Stuart, Fla., and the Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club in Wolfeboro, N.H.
In addition to his wife and son Kevin Walgreen, Walgreen is survived by five other sons — Charles Richard Walgreen, Leslie Ray Walgreen, Chris Patrick Walgreen, Tad Alexander Walgreen and Carl Allen Walgreen Jr.—and two daughters—Brooke Julia Walgreen and Jorie Allen Grassie. He also had 19 grandchildren and a great-grandchild. He is also survived by his sister, Leslie Ann Walgreen Pratt and a brother, James Alan Walgreen, as well as several nieces and nephews.
Walgreen was preceded in death by his parents and a son, Tad Alexander Walgreen, Sr.
Services will be private. Donations in Walgreen’s memory can be made to the Radiation Oncology Fund at the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center at Loyola University, 2160 South First Avenue, Maywood, Ill, 60153.