- John M. Mugar
John M. Mugar (1914-2007) president and chairman of the
Star Market chain of supermarkets inNew England and prominent member of theMugar family ofGreater Boston , was born April 5, 1914, inBoston , son of Armenian immigrant, Martin Mugar and his wife. He died March 23, 2007, in Gloucester.Education
John Martin Mugar graduated
magna cum laude fromTufts University in 1937. He served actively as a Trustee of Tufts from 1966-1989 and was a trusteeemeritus for the rest of his life. He also served on the Board of theFletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts.Early career
John Mugar was born Zaven Marderos DerMugarditchian in Boston.His ancestors had emigrated to America from Harpoot Turkey near the Euphrates River. His great-grandfather on his mother's side managed an orphanage in Armenia for missionaries of the American Congregational Church. His great-grandfather and twenty five members of his family were killed in the massacres of 1915.
John spent his early youth on Lenox St in Boston.It was an immigrant neighborhood.As he states in his memoir "Nobody had much money,and in those days there was no such thing as welfare,so people had to make it on their own."When he was seven his family moved to Chilton St in Cambridge.His father Martin Mugar and Martin's brothers managed a restaurant on the corner of Washington St and Columbus Ave in Boston,known as Mugar's Cafe.
John attended the Cambridge Public Schools and graduated from Cambridge High and Latin.He was president and treasurer of the youth group at the First Congregational Church of Cambridge.At the age of thirteen he sold the "Saturday Evening Post" door to door and eventually managed a sales force of twenty boys,winning sales competitions that Curtis Publishing held in Boston.
During the Depression his father's restaurant closed and the family came on hard times,supported only by his sister Mary.John put his college plans on hold and took a full time job working for his cousin Stephen at Star Market.
In 1933 after a year at Star,John returned to school,first doing a post-grad year at Berkeley Prep,where he was valedictorian and then matriculating at Tufts University,where he majored in Economics.He graduated magna cum laude in 1937.
That same year he returned to Star,which now had three stores.He was appointed treasurer and reduced expenses by 30%.In 1940 he became vice-president.There were no guide books to running a supermarket,so they joined the Super Market Institute where they met other supermarket owners from whom they learned a lot.He realized that a business needs good managers and started to recruit and train qualified people.This became his hallmark.He continued to encourage and offer continuing education for his employees throughout his career.
Naval service in WWII
At the age of 28 John Mugar enlisted in the Navy.In his own words he describes himself as"a balding grocer with flat feet and poor eyesight".Because of the eye sight, primarily, he failed his physical. Wanting to serve his country he persisted,passed his physical, and was inducted as an ensign. He was assigned to the naval base at Portsmouth NH in 1943, where he managed the commissary. It was at Portsmouth that he met his wife Helen Gienandt, who was an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps. Both were eventually shipped out to the Pacific Front: Helen to New Guinea and John to Okinawa, where he was commissary officer of an amphibious unit, Acorn 44. His unit soon became known for the quality of their food and the cleanliness of the galleys.
Reminiscences of his chef George Thierry, who came to work at Star Market after the War, give a glimpse of his life in the Pacific.
1. Your rating as an officer jumped when you ordered the officers to the end of the line because this was an enlisted men's chow. 2. The submarine and air attacks. 3. Breaking down two days out of Hawaii, bobbing up and down in the Pacific until getting towed back to Hawaii. 4. Getting the reputation for the best chow on the island.4. Getting a "duck" to locate American freighters which may have surplus fresh produce. 5. Typhoon with winds up to 175 miles an hour.6. The Golden Gate bridge looked mighty good,when we finally made it home.
Later career
As vice- president,president and finally chairman of the board, John Mugar took Star Market from a small chain of several stores to make of it a major New England supermarket brand of more than sixty stores.He cared deeply about his employees and the plight of the worker in general. He always felt that managing an organization meant providing opportunities for self-improvement as well as a good salary and benefits. If he could help someone improve their lives, he would go out of his way to do it.Although he looked the part of an executive with his fedora and camel hair overcoat,he knew that his success depended on the success of those he employed.He was always part of the family.
Marriage and family
John M. Mugar married Helen Gienandt whom he met in 1943 at the
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Naval Base, where he was a Navy lieutenant and she was a Navy nurse. They had three daughters and a son. John and Helen lived in Belmont for many years before retiring toMarco Island, Florida . Later they returned to Gloucester to live.External links
* cite news
url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/03/26/john_m_mugar_helped_build_star_market_empire_at_92/
accessdate=2008-07-02
date=2007-03-26
title=John M. Mugar; helped build Star Market empire; at 92
work=The Boston Globe
author=Eileen McSweeney* cite news
url=http://media.www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2007/03/30/News/Former.Tufts.Trustee.John.Mugar.Passes.Away.At.92-2814400.shtml
accessdate=2008-07-31
date=2007-03-30
title=Former Tufts Trustee passes away at 92
work=Tufts Daily News
author=Sarah Butrymowicz
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