WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Tony S. Gentle, who co-founded the Kum & Go convenience store chain, died Wednesday evening at the Naples (Fla.) Community Hospital after a long illness, reported the Des Moines Register.
Gentle, 92, and his son-in-law William A. Krause, started the Hampton Oil Co. in Hampton, Iowa, in September 1959. The company was eventually renamed Krause Gentle Corp. and moved to West Des Moines, Iowa.
Affiliates under the Krause Gentle umbrella include Amici Espresso, a recently launched coffee shop chain; Solar [image-nocss] Transport, a fuel transport company; Chieftain Corp., which provides associates with an opportunity to own and operate c-stores as stockholders; the Des Moines Menace soccer team; and Liberty Bank.
Each year, Kum & Go donates 10% of its profits to charity.
Kum & Go, a major regional chain, serves the major markets of Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Neb.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Springfield, Mo. It currently operates more than 430 c-stores in 13 statesIowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas, Wyoming and Wisconsin.
Gentle is survived by his wife, Mary Angela; his daughter; three grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
CSP Daily News sendscondolences to Gentle's family, friends and colleagues.
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