Deaths: Helped Make Dad's Root Beer an International Brand

From the August 21, 2015, Chicago Tribune.

ROU GURVEY (1923-2015)

Built Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer into a strong brand before Coke and Pepsi dominated the market.  According to his son Scott, he was able to build personal relationships with bottlers back in the days when there were a lot of independent soft drink flavors.  Died August 12 at age 92.

Born in New York and moved to Chicago where graduated from Roosevelt High School before attending University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Left school in sophomore year to served in World War II.

In the early 1950s, hired by Chicago-based Dad's which had been founded in the 1930s.  Dad's at the time was a regional powerhouse, but Gurvey helped build it into a national and international brand.  They became second in root beer sales with 12 million cases, behind A&W.