Granville Martin Semmes II (April 3, 1927 – March 30, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and

gemcutter Lapidary (from the Latin ) is the practice of shaping stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary is known as a lapidarist. A lap ...

. Semmes was the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

1-800-Flowers 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. is a floral and foods gift retailer and distribution company in the United States. The company's focus, except for Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, is on gift baskets. They also use the name ''1-800-Baskets.com''. Thei ...

, a floral retailer, gift and distribution company in the United States.

Biography

He was born on April 3, 1927, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, to Benedict Joseph Semmes and Amy Elizabeth Lardner. He earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University. Semmes served in the United States Navy before moving to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Louisiana, in 1949. Semmes first worked at Whitney National Bank. He then joined the staff of

WWL-TV WWL-TV (channel 4) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Slidell-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WUPL (channel 54). Both stations share studios on Rampart St ...

as an advertising account executive, where he worked for thirty years. Semmes is best known as the founder of

, a telephone business which allowed consumers to order flowers using a credit card without having to visit a florist. Semmes came up with the idea for the business while taking a shower. He was friends with both a florist and an executive for a telephone company. Unfortunately for Semmes, the telephone number for his proposed 1-800-Flowers was owned by a truck driver who lived in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

at the time. Semmes flew to Wisconsin, where he purchased the phone number. In addition to 1-800-Flowers, which Semmes launched in the 1980s, the company has expanded to the Internet with 1-800-Flowers.com. Semmes' personal interests included

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

gemstones A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

and tennis. Semmes and his son purchased five historic homes, built before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, in the Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans during the 1970s. The five homes, located on First Street, included three of the last five remaining brick double homes in New Orleans. Semmes restored all five homes, and later purchased the remainder of the buildings on the same city block. Semmes also had interests in gemstones and

gemology Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identif ...

. He owned two

jewelry store A jewellery store (American English: jewelry store) is a retail business establishment, that specializes in selling (and also buying) jewellery and watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is des ...

s, called Chatelaine Fine Gems, with branches in the Royal Orleans and the Royal Sonesta hotels in New Orleans. Additionally, Semmes worked as a gem appraiser and a master

, achieving the title of fellow from the Gemological Institute of Great Britain. Semmes died at the

Touro Infirmary Touro Infirmary is a non-profit hospital located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded by Judah Touro in 1852, it is a part of the LCMC Health System. Organization Touro Infirmary is affiliated with the Louisiana State University Health Science ...

in New Orleans on March 30, 2012, aged 84. He was survived by his wife, Jane (née Pfister) Semmes; two daughters and six sons, and a large extended family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semmes, Granville 1927 births 2012 deaths American company founders Historical preservationists Duke University alumni Businesspeople from New Orleans Businesspeople from Memphis, Tennessee Gemologists 20th-century American businesspeople