James Lawrence "Bud" Walton (December 20, 1921 – March 21, 1995) was the brother of

Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for Co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 res ...

and a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

businessman.

Biography

Early life

Walton was born to Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy "Nannie" Lee Lawrence Walton on December 20, 1921, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. His father worked as a farm appraiser and mortgage agent. The family moved often because of Thomas Walton's job. When he was two years old, his family moved from Oklahoma to

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. The Walton family later lived in

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

, Shelbina, and

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. As children, the boys worked on the family's farm. Bud Walton delivered newspapers, worked as a lifeguard, and did yard work. He attended David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, where he played varsity basketball and was elected senior class president. After graduation, he attended Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri. He served as a

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

pilot in World War II. While undergoing flight training, Bud met and married his wife, Audrey. They had two daughters, Ann and Nancy.

Career

Bud and his brother, Sam, began their career in the retail industry working in the Ben Franklin Stores, a franchised unit of

Butler Brothers Butler Brothers was a retailer and wholesale supplier based in Chicago. It was founded in 1877 as a mail-order company by Charles Hamblet Butler, George Henry Butler, George H. Butler and Edward Burgess Butler. History In the 1920s, Butler Broth ...

of Chicago. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opened its first Sam's Club – named for Sam Walton – on April 7, 1983, in Midwest City, Oklahoma. Together, the Walton brothers donated $150,000 to build a new home for the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau in Columbia, Missouri. The building was named the Thomas G. Walton Building in honor of their father. Bud Walton donated $15 million for the construction of a basketball arena at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

in Fayetteville, named

Bud Walton Arena Bud Walton Arena (also known as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball, men's and Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball, women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Arka ...

in his honor.

College of the Ozarks College of the Ozarks is a Private college, private Christian college in Point Lookout, Missouri, United States. The college has an enrollment of 1,426 and over 30 academic majors in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs. The colleg ...

in Point Lookout, Missouri, is home to the James L. "Bud" Walton Chair of Retailing, named in honor of his support.

Death

Walton died following surgery for an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

in Miami, Florida, on March 21, 1995, at the age of 73.Bud Walton, the Low Key Wal-Mart Founder, Dead at 73
Retrieved 30 October 2014. He is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Columbia, Missouri.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Bud 1921 births 1995 deaths Burials at Memorial Park Cemetery (Columbia, Missouri)

Bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

Businesspeople from Columbia, Missouri People from Bentonville, Arkansas Wentworth Military Academy and College alumni United States Navy pilots of World War II University of Arkansas people Hickman High School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople

Biography

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References