Theodore Pringle Loblaw (July 1, 1872 – April 2, 1933) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

grocer. Loblaw founded the

Loblaws Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companies Limited, C ...

chain of grocery stores, which is now a nationwide retail empire.

Biography

Loblaw was born in Elmgrove, northeast of

Alliston Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of Alliston and nearby villages of Beeton, Tottenham, and the Township of Tecumseth. The pri ...

, the son of William James Loblaw and Isabella Stevenson Loblaw. After his parents' deaths during his adolescence, Loblaw was raised by his maternal grandparents, William and Elizabeth Stevenson, at their farm just outside Alliston. In the 1890s he headed to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

to begin his career in retail grocery. He later settled in

Mimico Mimico is a neighbourhood (and a former municipality) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township (and later, City) of Etobicoke, and was an in ...

and eventually purchased his grandparents' farm. Loblaw married Isabella Adam in 1897. The Loblaws had no biological children and were survived by their grand niece (Jean Agnes Loblaw 1917-1993) and nephews (Alexander Burr-Loblaw (1904-1978), John Burr-Loblaw (1906-1972) and James Fraser Burr-Loblaw (1910-1986). Loblaw died at Toronto Western Hospital on April 2, 1933 and buried at Alliston Union Cemetery in

Alliston, Ontario Alliston is a settlement in Simcoe County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has been part of the Town of New Tecumseth since the 1991 amalgamation of Alliston and nearby villages of Beeton, Tottenham, and the Township of Tecumseth. The p ...

Creating Loblaws Groceteria

In 1919 Loblaw was hired by the United Farmers Cooperative Company (the purchasing agent of the

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

co-operative) having previously co-managed a grocery store. He was involved in an unsuccessful attempt by the UFCC to launch a chain of cooperative grocery stores; he left the company and used the experience he had gained to found the grocery chain that bears his name.

Toronto Western Hospital

Loblaw was also instrumental in the establishment of the

Toronto Western Hospital The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the University Health Network (UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known for ...

, as well as of the Stevenson Memorial Hospital in

, which was named in honour of his grandparents.

References

External links

Stevenson Memorial Hospital: History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loblaw, Theordore Pringle 1872 births 1933 deaths Canadian company founders Members of the United Church of Canada Canadian people of Scottish descent Retail company founders Businesspeople from Toronto