Earle Arden Chiles (September 9, 1904December 5, 1982) was a former president of Fred Meyer, Inc. and founder of the Chiles Foundation in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Early life and education

Chiles was born in 1904 in

Baker City, Oregon Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census. History Pl ...

, the son of Ira Chiles and Eva Chatfield. After his parents divorced in 1908, Chiles and his mother moved to Portland where Mrs. Chiles met and later married

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company merged w ...

. He began working for his stepfather in 1918 while still in high school, and after graduating from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

he earned a master's degree in business administration from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

Career

After graduate 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 and became active in grants for education and research. An endowment in 1984 created the

Chiles Center The Earle A. & Virginia H. Chiles Center is a 4,852-seat multi-purpose arena in Portland, Oregon, USA. The arena opened in 1984. It is home to the University of Portland Pilots men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball t ...

at the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

Personal life

While at Harvard, Chiles married Virginia Hughes. Their son, Earle M. Chiles, later continued his father's work at the Chiles Foundation. Chiles had been president of the

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

foundation and had been a director of the

foundation. He was a member of the

Arlington Club The Arlington Club is a private social club organized in 1867 by 35 business and banking leaders of Portland in the US state of Oregon. First called the Social Club and later renamed the Arlington Club, it offered its all-male members, most of w ...

Waverley Country Club The Waverley Country Club is a country club located in Clackamas County, Oregon United States. Chartered in 1896, the club was the second private golf club established west of the Mississippi River. History The club was established in April 1896, ...

, and Portland Yacht Club.

References

External links

History of Fred Meyer, Inc. at Funding Universe

Partial list of Chiles Foundation endowments

Guide to the Meyer Family Film Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiles, Earle A. 1904 births 1982 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American grocers Philanthropists from Oregon Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Harvard Business School alumni People from Baker City, Oregon University of Oregon alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists