Stewart William Bainum Sr. (1919–2014) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Choice Hotels, a hotel chain, and HCR Manor Care, a retirement facility chain. He was the founder of the Commonweal Foundation (now known as th
Bainum Family Foundation
, a philanthropic organization.

Early life

Stewart W. Bainum Sr. was born on June 10, 1919, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan. His father, Charles Bainum, worked for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

in Detroit until he was dismissed during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and worked for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He had two brothers, Robert and Irvin, and a sister, June Hill. Stewart was educated at the Mount Vernon Academy, a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

boarding school in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Kokosing River, northeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 16,956 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Th ...

. He dropped out due to financial distress, but graduated years later. Meanwhile, attended the

Washington Adventist University Washington Adventist University is a Private university, private Seventh-day Adventist university in Takoma Park, Maryland. History Washington Adventist University was established in 1904 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Washington ...

Business career

Bainum hitch-hiked to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1936, where he took menial jobs. With his savings, he started a plumbing business. He later became a real estate developer and real estate investor. He served as the chairman of Realty Investment Co. Bainum was the co-founder of a hotel in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

, in 1957. Over the years, he opened more hotels and founded Quality Inns International, later known as Choice Hotels. He served as its chairman and chief executive officer until 1987, and served on its board of directors until 2000. Meanwhile, Bainum opened a retirement facility with his brother in 1960. Over the years, he opened over 200 retirement facilities and established Manor Care. Through a 1998 merger with the Health Care and Retirement Corp., it became known as HCR Manor Care. He served as its chairman and chief executive officer until 1987 and served on its board of directors until 2000.

Philanthropy

Bainum co-founded the Commonweal Foundation, now known as th
Bainum Family Foundation
with his wife in 1968. Through their foundation, they donated US$12 million to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Moreover, under the aegis of the I Have A Dream Foundation, he covered the college tuition of Kramer Junior High School graduates in 1988.

Personal life

Bainum married Jane Goyne. They resided in Silver Spring, followed by

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

. They had two sons, Stewart W. Bainum Jr. and Bruce Bainum, and two daughters, Barbara and Roberta.

Death

Bainum died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on February 12, 2014, at the

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bainum, Stewart W. Sr. 1919 births 2014 deaths Businesspeople from Detroit Businesspeople from Silver Spring, Maryland People from Chevy Chase, Maryland American company founders American chief executives American chairpersons of corporations Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists