Bud Walton: vision and spirit: Wal-Mart's co-founder dies at age 73

Discount Store News, April 3, 1995 by Teresa Andreoli

MIAMI - James Lawrence "Bud" Walton, co-founder and senior vp, Wal-Mart, died here last month of an abdominal, aortic aneurysm. The Bentonville, Ark., resident was 73 years old.

Most recently, Walton served as senior vp and a member of Wal-Mart's board of directors as well as the board's executive committee.

"Not only did Bud Walton play a major role as an architect of the early strategy that set Wal-Mart on its successful course," said Robson Walton, Wal-Mart's chairman of the board and nephew of Bud, "but he embodied the fighting spirit that is essential to making any strategy work.

"As a confidant of my father, Sam Walton, and supportive friend of countless Wal-Mart associates all over the country, my uncle's influence truly was felt from the stock room to the board room. He will be deeply missed," Robson said.

Bud and his older brother Sam, who passed away in April 1992, began their first retail partnership in 1945, when they operated a Ben Franklin store in Newport, Ark.

Seventeen years and 16-stores-in-three-states later, the Walton brothers gave birth to the first Wal-Mart Discount City store in Rogers, Ark.

Whereas Sam was known for his strategic vision, Bud focused on real estate and expansion issues. Bud played a significant role in Wal-Mart's growth to 276 stores in the 1970s, 1,402 stores in the 1980s and currently to 2,140 stores, a Wal-Mart press release said.

"Bud's, ability to handle those vital areas [such as finding suitable locations and directing store construction] allowed Sam to focus on the retailing part of the business, and was crucial to Wal-Mart's success," said Jim von Grump, Arkansas state representative and a former Wal-Mart executive, in a recent The Wall Street Journal article.

Bud's Warehouse Outlets, a key Wal-Mart strategy for recycling old, out-of-date discount stores by turning them into outlets that sell closeout and reconditioned goods, was named after the senior vp. There are currently about 100 Bud's Warehouse Outlets generating more than $700 million in annual sales.

On the personal side, the co-founder's interest remained fiercely rooted in college athletics. Bud donated $15 million to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, to construct a 19,200-seat sports arena, and prior to that, the university dedicated an athletic dormitory in the name of the former World War II U.S. Navy bomber pilot.

The Bud Walton Arena, nicknamed the Bud Bowl or the Bud Dome, opened in November 1993 and housed the Arkansas Razorbacks when they won a national championship in their first season of play.

"Our sympathies go out to the family of Mr. Bud Walton," said UA Chancellor Daniel Ferritor. "The University of Arkansas has lost a real friend and benefactor who challenged us to be great. Because of [his] commitment to the athletics department, we have one of the finest basketball arenas in the country and teams of champions to play in it," he said.

"Bud Walton was one of the best friends the University of Arkansas ever has had," commented UA athletic director Frank Broyles. "He was more than just a successful businessman. He cared for people and it showed in his generosity. The people of Arkansas shall forever be grateful to Bud Walton for allowing the Razorbacks to have such an incredible arena," Broyles said.

Arkansas native President Bill Clinton issued a statement at Walton's death which mentioned, "Bud never forgot his roots. His generosity toward his community and to the University of Arkansas will long be remembered by those he touched."

Last October, Forbes ranked Walton as the 83rd richest man in the United States, and assessed his wealth at $1 billion. Bud's ownership of 40.2 million shares of Wal-Mart Mart stock made him the largest individual Wal-Mart shareholder, The Wall Street Journal article said.

Walton, an avid fisherman, suffered the aneurysm while on an angling trip in the Caribbean. He is survived by two daughters and three grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on March 23 at the Missouri United Methodist Church in his childhood hometown of Columbia, Mo. The family has requested that memorials be made to: Bud Walton Memorial Endowment Fund c/o Dr. Jerry C. Davis, president. College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo. 65726, or Razorback Foundation P.O. Box 3518, Fayetteville, Ark. 72702