Joan B. Kroc

Joan Beverly Kroc (née Mansfield) (August 27, 1928, St. Paul, Minnesota - October 12, 2003, Rancho Santa Fe, California) was the third wife of McDonald's CEO Ray Kroc. She was a philanthropist in life and death. She lived in San Diego, California.

Related Topics:
August 27 - 1928 - St. Paul - Minnesota - October 12 - 2003 - Rancho Santa Fe - California - McDonald's - Ray Kroc - Philanthropist - San Diego

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Her husband, McDonald's Corp. founder Ray Kroc, left her the San Diego Padres baseball team when he died in January 1984. Kroc sold the team in 1990 and turned her attention to philanthropy.

Related Topics:
McDonald's Corp. - Ray Kroc - San Diego Padres - Philanthropy

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In 2002 a large Salvation Army community center that she helped fund (to the tune of $87 million) opened to the public. Several institutions in the San Diego area are named after her, including the think tank the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego, the St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center for the Homeless in downtown and the Kroc-Copley Animal Shelter in the Morena District.

Related Topics:
Salvation Army - Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice - University of San Diego - St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center for the Homeless - Kroc-Copley Animal Shelter - Morena District

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She anonymously donated $15 million to victims of the 1997 floods in North Dakota and Minnesota. 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.

Related Topics:
Floods - North Dakota - Minnesota

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In the 1970s she founded Operation Cork, which aimed to inform doctors and other health workers about the dangers of alcoholism.

Related Topics:
Operation Cork - Alcoholism

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She also supported the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities and Ronald McDonald Houses.

Related Topics:
Ronald McDonald Children's Charities - Ronald McDonald House

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As Padres owner she started Major League Baseball's first employee-assistance program for players and staff with drug problems.

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Kroc was also active politically. In 1985 she spent millions of dollars in support of nuclear disarmament.

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In a San Diego Union-Tribune article published upon Kroc's death from brain cancer in 2003, former Padre Tony Gwynn 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.

Related Topics:
San Diego Union-Tribune - Tony Gwynn

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"It's a shame that most of us will only now find out the extent of what Joan did. She was a great owner, person and humanitarian. I remember when I declared bankruptcy in 1987. It was my darkest hour. And Joan was there to offer me words of encouragement and to address the team on my behalf.

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"She cared about the players and their families. Heck, she cared about everyone on the face of this earth. She loved to help people."

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Her will included significant bequests for a number of organizations.

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• $1.5 billion for the Salvation Army
• $200 million for National Public Radio
• $50 million for the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice
• $50 million for the University of Notre Dame's Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
• $5 million for San Diego's KPBS public radio and television stations

She is affectionately known by the citizens of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota as "the angel" because of her $15 million donation to assist the cities after a devastating flood occurred there in 1997.

Related Topics:
Grand Forks - North Dakota - East Grand Forks - Minnesota - Devastating flood - 1997

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