Earle A. Chiles
{{Infobox person
| name = Earle A. Chiles
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1904|09|09}}
| birth_place = Baker City, Oregon
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1982|12|05|1904|09|09}}
| death_place = Portland, Oregon
| occupation = Business executive, philanthropist
| years_active =1918{{endash}}1982
| known_for = Fred Meyer, Inc.
Chiles Center
Earl A. Chiles Business Center
Earle A. Chiles Center and award
Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Portland Medical Center
}}
Earle Arden Chiles (September 9, 1904{{dash}}December 5, 1982) was a former president of Fred Meyer, Inc. and founder of the Chiles Foundation in Portland, Oregon.{{cite news | title =Former Fred Meyer president Earle Chiles dies | newspaper =The Oregonian | location =Portland | pages =B3 | date =December 6, 1982 }}
Early life and education
Chiles was born in 1904 in Baker City, Oregon, the son of Ira Chiles and Eva Chatfield.Later the namesake of Eve's Buffet Restaurants at many Fred Meyer locations, see {{cite web| title =Lehman Brothers Collection: Fred Meyer, Inc.| url =http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/company.html?company=fred_meyer_inc | accessdate = January 12, 2015}} After his parents divorced in 1908, Chiles and his mother moved to Portland where Mrs. Chiles met and later married Fred Meyer.{{cite book | last =Leeson | first =Fred | title =My-Te-Fine Merchant | publisher =Irvington Press | date =2014 | location =Portland | pages =66–68 (iBook) | isbn =978-0996062602}}
He began working for his stepfather in 1918 while still in high school, and after graduating from the University of Oregon he earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
Career
After graduating from school, Chiles returned to Fred Meyer, Inc. and quickly rose through management ranks, serving as company president from 1955 to 1968.
He formed the Chiles Foundation in 1949{{cite web| title =Manta: Chiles Foundation| url =http://www.manta.com/c/mmgwnhd/chiles-foundation | accessdate = January 12, 2015}} and became active in grants for education and research. An endowment in 1984 created the Chiles Center at the University of Portland.{{cite news | title =University of Portland to upgrade Chiles Center with $2 million pledge | newspaper =The Oregonian | location =Portland | date =October 11, 2011 | url =http://www.oregonlive.com/pilots/index.ssf/2011/10/university_of_portland_to_upgr.html | accessdate = January 12, 2015}}
Personal life
While at Harvard, Chiles married Virginia Hughes.Namesake of the Virginia Hughes Chiles Atrium at the Boston University School of Management Their son, Earle M. Chiles, later continued his father's work at the Chiles Foundation.{{cite news|last1=Matsumoto|first1=Samantha|title=Earle M. Chiles, Portland businessman and philanthropist, dies at age 83|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/06/portland_businessman_and_phila.html|accessdate=25 June 2016|work=The Oregonian/OregonLive|date=June 24, 2016}}
Chiles had been president of the Portland State University foundation and had been a director of the University of Oregon foundation. He was a member of the Arlington Club, Waverley Country Club, and Portland Yacht Club.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/fred-meyer-stores-inc-history/ History of Fred Meyer, Inc. at Funding Universe]
- [http://www.bu.edu/today/2008/earle-m-chiles-honored/ Partial list of Chiles Foundation endowments]
- [http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv39031 Guide to the Meyer Family Film Collection]
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Category:American businesspeople in retailing
Category:Philanthropists from Oregon
Category:Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon
Category:Harvard Business School alumni
Category:People from Baker City, Oregon
Category:University of Oregon alumni