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Craves, 72, of Costco and Success Foundation, dies

The Columbian
Published: November 12, 2014, 12:00am

Bob Craves, a co-founding officer of Costco Wholesale in 1983 who later helped send thousands of young people in the U.S. to college, has died. He was 72.

Craves died of cancer Nov. 5, according to the College Success Foundation, the Issaquah-based group he established in 2000. He retired last year.

Along with Costco co-founders Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman, Craves expanded the retailer from a single store in Seattle into the largest U.S. warehouse-club chain.

Craves spent 17 years at the retailer, also based in Issaquah, serving as senior vice president of membership, marketing and community outreach.

After leaving Costco, he set up the foundation to give disadvantaged youth in Washington and, later, in Washington, D.C., access to higher education.

“Bob was a leader and giant, and will be remembered by the thousands of young people whose life trajectories he influenced with the gift of education,” the foundation said in a statement on its website.

By the end of 2013, it had awarded more than 12,000 scholarships, and almost 4,000 recipients had earned bachelor’s degrees, with thousands more still in college.

Robert Edward Craves was born on July 10, 1942, in Bay City, Mich., to Robert Craves and the former Edith Mish. The oldest of five children, he left home at age 13 to join a seminary with the intention of becoming a Catholic priest. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Craves is survived by his wife, Gerri; their daughter, Stacie; and two grandchildren, Siena and Sabrina.

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