Joseph Andrew Unanue (March 14, 1925 – June 12, 2013) was a New York-born son of Spanish parents who was the president of

Goya Foods Goya Foods, Inc. is an American producer of a brand of foods sold in the United States and many Spanish-speaking countries. It has facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Spain. It is under third-generation ownersh ...

, the largest

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

–owned food company in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After a Catholic upbringing and education in New York, Unanue served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during World War II, and was awarded the

Bronze star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for bravery. He subsequently returned to New York and joined the company his father had founded,

. He rose to become president in 1978, a position he held until 2004. Unanue was made a knight of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, and was awarded several honorary doctorates. He died of pulmonary fibrosis in 2013.

Early years

Unanue's father, Prudencio Unanue Ortiz, was born in Villasana de Mena, in the

province of Burgos The Province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladolid. ...

, in northern Spain. He emigrated to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where he met a young Spanish girl by the name of Carolina Casal, whose parents also had immigrated to Puerto Rico from Galicia. They were married in the island in 1921 and soon after moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and settled in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

where Joseph Unanue was born. Prudencio Unanue worked as a broker for

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

companies doing business in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

He soon realized that there was a need for Hispanic products in New York City, and in 1936 he founded

, a food distributing company, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Prudencio Unanue was very serious about his children's education and enrolled them in

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

schools. Joseph attended St. Joseph's Grammar School and later St. Cecilia's High School. Since childhood and when not in school, Unanue and his brothers had to work in the family business. His special job was bottling all over

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

. In 1943, he graduated from high school but, since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was in full swing, he was drafted into the

World War II

After basic training, Unanue attended the

University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound (UPS or Puget Sound) is a private university in Tacoma, Washington. The university draws approximately 2,600 students from 44 states and 16 countries. It offers 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 traditional an ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. However, due to the intensity of the war, he was soon sent to the battlefield. In 1944, his Army company landed in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and soon joined

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's 3rd Army at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

. Unanue was only 19 years old and a

Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

when his

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

died in action. He was then named sergeant in the field and made

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

leader. Unanue pulled his men to safety and was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for bravery.

Goya Foods

In 1946, after Unanue returned home, he enrolled in

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he graduated with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

. He joined the family business, together with his brothers Tony and Frank Unanue. He learned every facet of the food industry. At first, the major supermarkets, such as A&P and Safeways weren't interested in selling anything with the Hispanic demography in mind. Eventually, with the wave of Hispanic immigrants landing in the United States, the supermarket industry started to take notice. Goya Foods started to supply Safeway's Supermarket in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and the rest soon followed. In 1956, Unanue married Carmen Ana de Casal, a Puerto Rican art collector and philanthropist with whom he had six children and 16 grandchildren. In 1976, Unanue was named president of the company, whose principal base of operations was by then in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. His brother Frank ran Goya de Puerto Rico, Inc., located in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Under Joseph's leadership, the company became the largest Hispanic–owned food distributor in the United States, with sales of over $800 million a year and with over 2,000 employees. Goya Foods grew to have more than a dozen facilities in the continental United States, while affiliated companies operate in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Spain. In 1985, Unanue's son Joseph F. Unanue was named Vice President of Operations, a position he held until 1998 when he died of cancer. His younger son,

Andy Unanue Andy Unanue is the current Managing Partner of AUA Private Equity Partners, an operationally-focused, lower middle-market private equity firm that targets Hispanic-oriented and family-owned companies. Unanue is the former Chief Operating Officer ...

, was named to replace Joseph F. Unanue.

Later years

In February 2004, after 27 years as president of Goya Foods, 78-year-old Joseph and his son Andy were ousted from the company by Joseph's two nephews. Joseph Unanue resided in Alpine, New Jersey with his wife Carmen Ana and continued to participate in civic and cultural activities. In 2008, his son

Andy Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...

was briefly a candidate for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey. He announced his candidacy on March 23, 2008, and filed petitions for the race on April 7, 2008. However, he dropped out of the race four days later, and his committee on vacancies designated former

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Dick Zimmer Richard Alan Zimmer (born August 16, 1944) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the United States House of Representatives. H ...

to enter the race under the Unanue petitions. He died of complications of

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

in 2013.

Legacy

Among the many distinctions that Joseph Unanue received was being knighted by the

. He was presented with the key to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. In 1991 he was presented with the National Hispanic Achievement Award, and was twice named the "Man of the Year" by the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

. The National Suppliers Association presented him with the Leadership Award. Unanue received honorary doctorates from Mercy College and

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

in New York, and from

Felician College Felician University is a private Catholic university with two campuses in New Jersey, one in Lodi and one in Rutherford. It was founded as the Immaculate Conception Normal School by the Felician Sisters in 1923 and the school has changed names ...

in New Jersey. The Catholic University of America named one of its campus houses "The Joseph Unanue House".

Military awards and decorations

Among Unanue's decorations are the following: *

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

References

External links

Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unanue, Joseph 1925 births 2013 deaths Catholic University of America alumni American chief executives of food industry companies American people of Basque descent American people of Puerto Rican descent People from Alpine, New Jersey Puerto Rican Army personnel United States Army soldiers Respiratory disease deaths in New Jersey Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Mercy College (New York) alumni United States Army personnel of World War II