Ralph Ketner
| Ralph Ketner | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ralph Wright Ketner September 20, 1920 Rimertown, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | May 29, 2016 (aged 95) Salisbury, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Complications from colorectal cancer |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Tri-State College |
| Occupation | Founder and Chairman-emeritus of Food Lion Philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Jones and Anne Blizzard |
| Children | Linda Ketner |
Ralph Wright Ketner (September 20, 1920 – May 29, 2016) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was known for being the founder of Food Lion (which was founded as Food Town) in 1957.
Ketner was born in Rimertown, North Carolina on September 20, 1920 to parents George Robert Ketner and Effie Yost Ketner. Ketner grew up selling newspapers and almanacs, all while learning what he called "street smarts". At a young age, Ketner had an apparent aptitude for arithmetic, claiming he could "out add any adding machine." As a teenager, Ketner worked at his brother Glen Ketner's grocery store located in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
In 1937, Ketner graduated from Boyden High School and went on to attend Tri-State College in Angola, Indiana as an accounting major. He excelled in his accounting and business law classes, but ran out of money and kept dropping out of a required public speaking course. Thanks to Toastmasters, he was eventually able to cope with his fear of public speaking.
Returning home after leaving Tri-State College, he worked at Cannon Mills as an accountant, eventually rising to the position of auditor. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Ketner volunteered and joined the U.S. Army, serving in Africa and Europe for 36 months.
On December 11, 1957, Ralph Ketner, Brown Ketner, and Wilson Smith co-founded the Food Town (later Food Lion) grocery store chain in Salisbury, North Carolina. Ketner served as President (later CEO, Chairman and Chairman Emeritus).
Ketner's first marriage was to Ruth Jones with whom he had two children: Linda Ketner of Charleston, South Carolina and Robert Ketner of Greensboro, North Carolina. His second marriage was to Anne Blizzard.
Ketner's faith was important to him and he was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Salisbury for over 83 years.
Ketner died at a hospice center in Salisbury, North Carolina from complications of colon cancer, aged 95.
After retiring from Food Lion, Ketner engaged in many philanthropic activities in areas ranging from higher education, to housing, homelessness, children and hunger relief. In 1989, he provided half the funds and raised the other half necessary to build Rowan Helping Ministries first building, which was competed in 1989. On Ketner's 94th birthday, he donated $94,000 to Rowan Helping Ministries.
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