Norman C. Danielson, who at one time owned and operated four Thriftway grocery stores in Clark County, passed away Feb. 12 at his home in Camas. He was 99.
Danielson launched his retail career in Clark County in 1938 when he began managing a hardware store in Washougal that he and his brothers Val and Gil had purchased. From that start, the three men went on to own and operate nine Thriftway stores, mostly in the Portland area.
They opend their first Clark County Thriftway in 1962 in Washougal, and sold the hardware store that same year. Three other Clark County Thriftway stores followed, and Norm Danielson became sole owner of those stores in the 1980s, when the brothers dissolved their business partnership and divided the assets.
Besides the store in Washougal, the Danielsons opened Thriftway stores in Orchards in 1970, on Southeast 164th Avenue and First Street in 1977, and in the Lacamas Center in Camas in 1990. Norm Danielson eventually sold the stores to his two sons, William and Douglas, and the last of those stores closed in 2001.
“He provided employment for a great many people in the communities he served, and he taught many of them lessons in life that made lasting impressions,” said Douglas Danielson.
Born March 24, 1915 in Colton, Ore., Danielson was the second of three sons born to Alfred and Lena Danielson. He grew up in Colton and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1938 with a degree in business administration. Danielson received a job offer from Standard Oil in California, but his father encouraged him to go into business for himself, said William Danielson.
Norm Danielson and his brothers searched for a store that had survived the Great Depression, which led them to the hardware store in Washougal. Danielson later would recall that his father left him alone in Washougal on Labor Day to find a place to live and fend for himself as he took on the role of managing the store, his sons said.
Following the outbreak of World War II, Danielson joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was stationed at Selfridge Field in Mt. Clemens, Mich. It was there that he met Audrey Sanders, who became his wife on Sept. 29, 1945.
Danielson spent 24 years in the hardware business before moving into the less familiar territory of grocery sales, Douglas Danielson said. He retired in 1995, at age 80, but continued working even in retirement, his son said.
William Danielson described his father as a man of integrity who treated employess fairly and valued his customers. “He was appreciative of the support he received from the community,” Danielson said of his father.
Danielson was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church, where Danielson Hall bears his name. He was a charter member of the Washougal Lions Club, past president of the Washougal Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the 182nd Masonic Lodge. He was an avid golfer and a member of the Orchard Hills Golf and Country Club.
Danielson launched the Norman C. Danielson Foundation, a charitable foundation benefitting the Camas, Washougal and East Vancouver communities. He contributed to numerous local charities including the Camas Boys and Girls Club, Washougal and Camas school foundations, and helped finance construction of a Washougal soccer field that bears his name.
He was preceded in death by his wife, who died in 2000, and his two brothers. He is survived by his son William of Vancouver, his son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Susan of Camas, and grandchildren Brooke Jordan of Camas and Derek Danielson of Vancouver.
Arrangements are by Straub’s Funeral Home & Columbia River Cremation in Camas. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, March 9, at Zion Lutheran Church, 824 N.E. Fourth Ave. in Camas.
Editor’s note: this story was changed to reflect that the memorial service will be at 11 a.m.
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