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Difference between revisions of "R. David Thomas and Adoption"

(References)
 
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From the age of 12 he worked in the restaurant business. He was a high-school dropout and left home after the 10th grade. He founded the Wendy's franchise restaurant chain in 1969.  
 
From the age of 12 he worked in the restaurant business. He was a high-school dropout and left home after the 10th grade. He founded the Wendy's franchise restaurant chain in 1969.  
  
He was on the boards of directors of the Children's Hospital in Columbus, [[Ohio]] and the St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, [[Tennessee]], and won the Horatio Alger Award in 1979.  
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He was on the boards of directors of the Children's Hospital in Columbus, [[Ohio]] and the St. Jude [[Research]] Hospital in Memphis, [[Tennessee]], and won the Horatio Alger Award in 1979.  
In 1992 he established the [[Dave Thomas]] Foundation for Adoption, to promote adoption law simplification and reduce the costs of adopting in the USA.  
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In 1992 he established the [[Dave Thomas]] Foundation for [[Adoption]], to promote [[adoption]] law simplification and reduce the costs of adopting in the USA.  
 
He traced his birth parents but they had already died when he located them.  
 
He traced his birth parents but they had already died when he located them.  
 
He had a quadruple heart by-pass operation in 1996 and his kidneys failed in 2001.
 
He had a quadruple heart by-pass operation in 1996 and his kidneys failed in 2001.
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Who's Who in America, 1996
 
Who's Who in America, 1996
 
Thomas, R. David. Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success. ([[New York]]: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991)
 
Thomas, R. David. Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success. ([[New York]]: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991)
"[[Dave Thomas]] Foundation for Adoption." [Includes portrait]. Available at: [http://www.wendys.com/community/adoption/adoption.html]
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"[[Dave Thomas]] Foundation for [[Adoption]]." [Includes portrait]. Available at: www.wendys.com/community/adoption/adoption.html
Den. "Entrepreneur's History: Dave Thomas (Wendys)." Available at: [http://www.bsp.net/den/data/2.html]
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Den. "Entrepreneur's History: [[Dave Thomas]] (Wendys)." Available at: www.bsp.net/den/data/2.html
Dottie, Enrico. "Roots of Ambition: Famous Businessmen Who Were [[Adopted]]." Available at: [http://www.parentsplace.com/fertility/adoptioncentral/articles/0,10335,252436_252916,00.html]. Originally published in USA Today, 5 September 1997  
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Dottie, Enrico. "Roots of Ambition: Famous Businessmen Who Were [[Adopted]]." Available at: www.parentsplace.com/fertility/adoptioncentral/articles/0,10335,252436_252916,00.html. Originally published in USA Today, 5 September 1997  
 
"Wendy's Founder [[Dave Thomas]] Dies." Associated Press wire story, 8 January 2002, 9:13 AM.
 
"Wendy's Founder [[Dave Thomas]] Dies." Associated Press wire story, 8 January 2002, 9:13 AM.
  

Latest revision as of 00:47, 4 March 2018

image, courtesy of AFP/Getty Images.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Biography

1932-2002

Founder and CEO of Wendy's

Thomas was adopted as a baby but his adoptive mother died when he was five. His father remarried three times and Thomas had an unsettled childhood. He did not learn he was adopted until he was 13, from his grandmother. From the age of 12 he worked in the restaurant business. He was a high-school dropout and left home after the 10th grade. He founded the Wendy's franchise restaurant chain in 1969.

He was on the boards of directors of the Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and the St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and won the Horatio Alger Award in 1979. In 1992 he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, to promote adoption law simplification and reduce the costs of adopting in the USA. He traced his birth parents but they had already died when he located them. He had a quadruple heart by-pass operation in 1996 and his kidneys failed in 2001.

References

Dever, Maria, and Dever, Aileen. Relative Origins: Famous Foster and Adopted People. (Portland: National Book Company, 1992) Who's Who in America, 1996 Thomas, R. David. Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success. (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991) "Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption." [Includes portrait]. Available at: www.wendys.com/community/adoption/adoption.html Den. "Entrepreneur's History: Dave Thomas (Wendys)." Available at: www.bsp.net/den/data/2.html Dottie, Enrico. "Roots of Ambition: Famous Businessmen Who Were Adopted." Available at: www.parentsplace.com/fertility/adoptioncentral/articles/0,10335,252436_252916,00.html. Originally published in USA Today, 5 September 1997 "Wendy's Founder Dave Thomas Dies." Associated Press wire story, 8 January 2002, 9:13 AM. Divorce or Premature Death of Adoptive Parent(s)]] Tracing Impossible or Birth Family Extinct]]