Jack Dyer Crouch (October 22, 1915 – July 25, 1989) was an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and conglomerate organizer.

Early life

Crouch was born in

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 ...

and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

Crouch co-founded the

Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vac ...

chain in 1954 with his partner Hyatt Robert von Dehn, and later became a Hilton Hotel franchise owner in the United States. He is credited with conceptualizing and building the world's first fly-in (airport) hotel, The Hyatt House Los Angeles. Prior to that, Crouch owned "Jack's on the Strip" in Hollywood, one of the first

drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products (or use the service provided by the business) without leaving their c ...

restaurants in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was there that he would meet von Dehn, who would soon invest in his airport-hotel concept.

Personal life and death

Crouch had four sons: J. Richard Crouch,

Jack Dyer Crouch II Jack Dyer Crouch II (born July 1, 1958) is an American diplomat and national security adviser. Since 2014, he has been president and Chief executive officer, chief executive officer (CEO) of the United Service Organizations (USO). Education Cr ...

, Robert Crouch, and Michael Crouch; and two daughters: Cathy Crouch and Michelle Crouch. He died of lung cancer in Columbia, Missouri on July 25, 1989. His son Jack Dyer Crouch II is a former

Assistant Secretary of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense is a title used for many high-level executive positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary of Defense title is junior to Under Secretary of De ...

, U.S. Ambassador to Romania,

Deputy National Security Adviser The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor. Among other res ...

, and

Assistant to the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...

. Also, from 1993 to 2001, Crouch was associate professor of defense and strategic Studies at

Southwest Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest u ...

. He was member of the board of editors of '' Comparative Strategy'' and a member of the board of advisers of the

Center for Security Policy The Center for Security Policy (CSP) is a US far-right, anti-Muslim, Washington, D.C.–based think tank. The founder and former president of the organization is Frank J. Gaffney Jr., who now serves as the group's executive chairman. The c ...

. While at Missouri, he also served as a reserve deputy sheriff in

Christian County Christian County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Christian County, Illinois * Christian County, Kentucky * Christian County, Missouri Christian County is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. ...

Early life

Career

Personal life and death

References

See also