Peter Folger (December 26, 1905 – August 27, 1980) was an American coffee

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

, and member of the prominent United States Folger family. He was also the longtime

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the board and president of the

Folgers Folgers is an American brand of coffee produced and sold in the United States, with additional distribution in Asia, Canada and Mexico. It forms part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Company. Folgers roasts its coffee in ...

Coffee Company. He was the son of James Athearn Folger, Jr. (born c. 1864) and wife Clare Luning and paternal grandson of founder J. A. Folger, and the father of Abigail Folger, who was killed in the notorious

Tate–LaBianca murders On the night of August 8, 1969, Tex Watson took Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian and Patricia Krenwinkel to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California. Watson claims Charles Manson had instructed him go to the house and "totally des ...

in 1969 at the age of 25.

Early life

Born and raised 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 ...

to James Athern Folger Jr. and Clara Eugenia Luning, Folger studied business and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

where he was an athlete on their

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, and

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

teams. Peter Folger later served in

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 ...

as a Marine

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Business

In 1963, after having helped to build the family firm into the third largest coffee wholesaler in the United States, Folger sold the company to

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

for 1,650,000 shares of P&G

common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other C ...

. However, he and the Folger family continued to operate Folgers as a P&G

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

Personal life

He married twice, first to Inés Mejía (1907–2007), the daughter of Encarnacion Mejía, the

consul general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

for

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and wife Gertrude Guirola, sister of Edwin Mejía (b. 1897), and member of a prestigious California

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

family hailing from

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

. They went on to have two children, Abigail Anne (b. 1943) and Peter Jr. (b. 1945). Inés filed for divorce which was granted in 1952. They shared joint custody of their two children. On June 30, 1960, Peter married his secretary Beverly Mater (b. 1935). They had one daughter together, Elizabeth, in January 1961. Peter and Beverly lived with their daughter at the Folger mansion located in

Woodside, California Woodside is a incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It has a council–manager system of government. The population of the town was 5,309 at the 2020 census. The town's population ha ...

until 1974 when they moved to a newly built home on Roberta Drive. The murder of his eldest daughter, Abigail Anne, in Los Angeles, California, on August 9, 1969, was said to have lessened Peter's desire to continue living at the Woodside estate, where she grew up.

Death

Folger died from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

at his home in

, at the age of 74 on August 27, 1980, and was buried in the Folger family plot at Mountain View Cemetery, in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. He was survived by his wife, Beverly, who did not remarry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folger, Peter 1905 births 1980 deaths American socialites American drink industry businesspeople Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) Businesspeople in coffee Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Yale Bulldogs football players Yale Bulldogs men's track and field athletes 20th-century American businesspeople People from Woodside, California