Jack Croco, Founder Of Qfc, Dies -- Board Will Meet To Find Successor

Quality Food Centers says its board will meet in the near future to select a successor to Jack Croco, co-founder and co-chairman, who died yesterday at his vacation home in Palm Desert, Calif.

Croco, 65, of Bellevue, served as QFC's president from its founding in 1960 to 1989, when he was replaced by Dan Kourkoumelis. Croco was responsible for helping QFC expand from six stores to 27, creating the largest independent supermarket chain in Seattle and King County.

QFC Chairman Stuart Sloan, who purchased a majority interest in QFC five years ago, said Croco still had a hand in the direction of the company, but lately had been spending more time away.

``The most important thing is that Jack has very carefully established a stable management team, so there's no rush,'' Sloan said. ``Jack established the vision. He was dedicated to his people . . . dedicated to a clean, clean store.''

The remaining management team has an average of 19 years with QFC, and of the chain's 2,000 employees, 500 recently received pins for five or more years of service, Sloan said. Inspiring loyalty, others in the industry say, was Croco's strong suit.

``The loyalty they have there is hard to achieve,'' said Wayne Spence, executive director of Washington State Food Dealers' Association, which named Croco its ``Grocer of the Year'' for 1990. ``That was a contribution Jack brought to this industry.''

Randall West, vice president of Food Giant, said Croco distinguished QFC as ``a clean, service-oriented company. . . . He did it the best of anyone.''

Reared in Boise, Idaho, Croco moved to the Seattle area in 1955 and started two grocery stores of his own. He merged the stores with four stores owned by L.H. Fortin to form QFC five years later.

Croco has served as president of the Western Association of Food Chains and as a board member of the Food Marketing Institute.

While he helped pioneer one of the area's most successful chains, Croco was known as a character who never lost the spirit of a small businessman. When a woman suddenly died of a heart attack in one of his stores and paramedics didn't arrive right away, Croco built a potato-chip display around the woman to keep gawkers away, Spence said.

Croco is survived by his wife of 42 years, Norma; by a daughter, Anne, of Seattle; and one granddaughter.

Information about services was not immediately available.