George William Church Sr. (March 30, 1887 – November 18, 1956) was an American businessman who founded

Church's Chicken Church's Texas Chicken is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To-Go by George W. Church Sr. in April 1952, in San Ant ...

Career

Church was born in Oak Grove, Missouri in 1887 to Isaac Wesley Church and Mary Josephine Webb. On April 17, 1952, Church started Church's Fried Chicken-To-Go, across the road from

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. Prior to his retirement, Church was an incubator salesman.

Personal life

In 1913, Church married Jessie May Pollard and had five children. After Church's sudden death in 1956, the restaurant was willed to his son, George W. "Bill" Church, Jr. (December 23, 1932 – February 7, 2014). Bill Church continued operations of the business in 1962, and further built the franchise with his partner David Bamberger before selling it.

References

1887 births 1956 deaths American food company founders Fast-food chain founders 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1900s-stub