Angel crashed fifteen times before meeting his demise, but it only took Dobson four wrecks to wake up and realize the diamond business might prove fatal. It was fascinating to see that the burger/fast food chain that Dobson created (along with other people) would end up becoming the most notable food item in Texas. Eventually, more people came to eat the fresh, large burgers. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. In the early years, Graces oldest son, Tom, enjoyed helping Harmon make the root beer at Whataburger. For some people, the best send-off is one that they would have loved to attendthemselves: a big party. By the end of 1950, Dobson had quit both the oil and auto industries and made Whataburger his sole venture. Numbers went from 600 to 950 burgers per day.10, August 4, 1951- Proud to be the beginning of what may be a lifelong business. [4] In 1993, her son Tom Dobson became the CEO and president of Whataburger. A system error has occurred. Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks celebrated a ground-breaking ceremony with Grace throwing out the first pitch. She did not like to drive, so for years he picked her up and drove her to monthly USO meetings. 200 RESTAURANTS AND GROWING. New menu additions soon followed, including the Breakfast On A Bun, Whatachick'nand the now-famous breakfast Taquitos. He wanted this burgers to be so delicious that it would make a person yell, What a burger! This inspired the naming of his company. I had over 5000 dollars invested in a drilling deal in Loving County, Texas, and on May 18 almost lost the whole thing through his drinking by fouling up a deal only two days before the money would have been forfeited Am now interested in financing Paul Burton, a hamburger expert, in some small specialized hamburger joints somewhere in Texas. I never knew anything about the man who created it and i found it hilarious that he wanted people to say what a burger! After all, kindness, compassion, and quality were principles Harmon and Grace worked to instill in their employees. It is a place that feels like home to more than 50,000 employees, called Family Members, and millions of customers. [4] Proving everyone wrong, Grace lived her entire life in the same house that her husband bought her. The University of Houstons Barth says such changes arent unusual in a company that has grown to Whataburgers size. Because of World War II, auto manufacturing plants had been repurposed to produce wartime products. In 1959, the first Whataburger restaurant outside of the state of Texas opened in Pensacola, Florida.[5]. Failed to remove flower. It has expanded in the Southwest United States with about 800 locations in ten states. The burger chain has large hamburgers, skinny long fries, creamy milkshakes, and more. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Great job on your article Courtney! Whataburger dismisses WOAs allegations, saying the suit contains serious misstatements and baseless speculation. (Whataburger and WOA and their attorneys declined to be interviewed for this story. Private burial will be in Seaside Memorial Park. However, if one thinks about it, if it were not for this incident, Dobson would not have gone down the road that he did to finance Whataburger. He took jobs at the county fair and as an apprentice iron worker. New Year's Day, 1950, Harmon Dobson, a sometime bush pilot, diamond courier, and automobile dealer, wrote in his journal: . [8] The crash killed Dobson and his business associate. Dobson revealed that in Fast Food magazine in 1957 that flying over a Whataburger in Bryan, Texas led to more customers buying burgers. Read more: 2 dead after small plane crashes near Thorsby: Alberta . For the Andrews family, this shift in corporate culture first became apparent two years ago, when it told the company headquarters, which had moved from Corpus to San Antonio in 2009, that it wanted to open a new store in Laredo. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Whataburger, which saw San Antonio as a key growth market, filed suit to block the sale. In the 21st century, it's not just urns and gravestones anymore. The struggles that Dobson endured building such an important food chain are inspiring. This event coincided with the mass unemployment and hysteria that lasted throughout the following decade. Otherwise, it wouldnt approve any new sites for WOA. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Non-family executives, without direct ownership interest in a privately held company, sometimes try to profit from a companys success by heading up a public offering. However, if one thinks about it, if it were not for this incident, Dobson would not have gone down the road that he did to finance Whataburger. AKA Thomas E. Dobson. However, everything changed when Dobson was put in charge of the refinerys mess hall, and it was here that his education in large-scale food service began. Instead, during the next 38 years, the Whataburger matriarch, who died of complications from cancer Thursday in a local hospital at age 80, played an integral part in growing the hamburger chain into the eighth largest in the nation. [2], Dobson moved to Texas, where he co-founded the first Whataburger with Paul Burton, who was looking to open a hamburger restaurant. In addition to a legacy of giving, Lady Grace made sure to instill her children with hard work and Whataburger values. 1 Colonization and Settlement (1500-1763), 2 Revolution and Early Republic (1754-1801), 4 Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), 5 Emergence of Modern America (1877-1929), 4 Late Middle Ages-Renaissance-Reformation Europe (1300-1648), 3 Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE), HS 1302 United States History since 1877, SP 3392 Language Variation and Dialectology of Spanish, Dom DiFurio and Oria McCaffrey, Whataburgers founding family sells controlling stake in iconic Texas chain,, College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences. In 2001, the 77th Texas Legislature officially recognized what Texans had known for more than 50 years: Whataburger is a designated a Texas Treasure.' I thought you might like to see a memorial for Harmon Archibald Dobson I found on Findagrave.com. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Occupation: Business Nationality: United States Executive summary: CEO of Whataburger Father: Harmon A. Dobson (Whataburger founder, d. 1967, plane crash) Mother: Grace (d. 1-Sep-2005) Brother: Hugh Sister: Lynne Whataburger President (1993-2007) Whataburger CEO (1993-) George W. Bush for President Expand the Memories and Condolences form. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Send simple, comforting meals with Home Chef. Sadly, in 2005, Whataburger Family Members mourned the loss of Lady Grace as she was called by many. ), When most Whataburger customers walk into the restaurant, they have no idea if the place they are eating at is a franchise or a corporate-owned branch. However, Dobson was already looking to move on to bigger ventures. In February 1955, Coy passed away, and Dobson and Grace turned to each other for comfort. The Andrews family refused and in March filed its suit, asking a judge to order Whataburger to abide by the 1993 agreement. Dobson, an Arkansas native, married Harmon Dobson in . cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Im beginning to like it & the dollars too.11, By the spring of 1967, Whataburger had expanded to more than forty stores in sixteen Texas cities and four states since it had first opened in 1950. The war was over, and his adventure had ended. Learn more about merges. January 1, 1950- I think this will be an eventful year for me.1. cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. ! Then they ask, whats a picture show? I try to explain drive in movies to them. Online ordering through Whataburgers app and website debuted in 2019. Whataburger has been highly successful in a very competitive market, says Stephen Barth, a professor of law and leadership at the University of Houstons Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. As a standard for mythical tall tales and legends, it comes as no surprise that Texas holds the national corner on stories of lost treasure. Harmon Archibald Dobson [1] was an American entrepreneur best known as one of the founders of the fast food chain Whataburger. The burger chain has large hamburgers, skinny long fries, creamy milkshakes, and more. Ways to honor Grace Dobson's life and legacy. Loved this article! Cant tell much yet.6, August 11, 1950- Nice day today $97. Add to your scrapbook. In June Dallas-based Brinker International, which owns Chilis and Maggianos Little Italy, unveiled a plan to buy franchises to boost earnings. This event coincided with the mass unemployment and hysteria that lasted throughout the following decade. During the early 1990s, profits declined as new items such as popcorn shrimp, salads, and steak sandwiches were added to the menu. Later, he went to Egypt and worked on the Suez Canal. Whataburger Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup and Original Mustard became available at H-E-B stores and online at. Everyone expected Grace, now twice widowed, to crumble, and they encouraged her to sell Whataburger. Its not surprising that people might want a bigger piece of that pie.. Thomas Mark Harmon, 50, of Laurel, Mont., died at the scene Monday after crashing his small plane . By 1949, Dobson was done with diamonds and began searching for a safe place to land. He died when his private plane, a Cessna Skymaster, crashed shortly after takeoff. However, Dobson found success to be lonely. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. I had no idea that the founder of Whataburger started in the oil business! Burton wanted to cut back on the product, convinced that customers would not pay that much. So, he brought along Johnny Sneed, who was working with a Whataburger franchise in Victoria, Texas. Dobson's journey started when he left Arkansas for Texas in 1950. It was an instant success, and Harmon began to expand the business to other markets. I love Whataburger and it is a Texas staple. Dobson filled that need by buying used autos from urban areas like Detroit, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., and selling them back in Batesville for huge profits. Dobson wrote about this difficulty in his journal: Late May, 1950- Landed back in Midland April 21 to find that Henry Mode, my oil partner, had begun drinking again. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. DeLaughters Is the Little Grocery Store That Could, The Daughter of a Barbecue Family Takes Tradition in a New Direction, The Old Orange Cafe Is a Piece of Local History, Gen Zs Homemade Tortillas Could Use an Upgrade. And while we now serve hot, fresh food at more than 890 Whataburgers across the country, that burger stand in Corpus Christi is never far from our hearts. Beechcraft Model 18. Harlon Gerry Dobson, of Pittsgrove Township, N.J., died Saturday at Crozier Chester Medical Center in this Philadelphia suburb, where he . He felt like the burgers at Dairy King were too small and wanted to build a really big burger, calling it the Whataburger. This browser does not support getting your location. Its a little like a public divorceneither side walks away looking good, says Michelle Hartmann, a Dallas attorney who specializes in private-company litigation. Today, more than seven-hundred of the distinctive orange and white WHATABURGER restaurants can be found in eleven states, and total more than $1billion is sales annually. Little did he know that he was going to be the founder of an epic fast food restaurant. He was able to please his customers with a five-inch burger by making special arrangements with the Rainbo Bread Company to develop five-inch buns, which were an inch larger than the standard bun. I always found it kind of weird that Whataburger has mostly been a Texas obsession and it amazes me that when they expanded to Memphis and Las Vegas, business declined. Dobson and Burton scouted out several locations for their big burger venture before settling on Corpus Christi. The burgers sold back then are the same as the original Whataburger that many Texans still love to today. 0 cemeteries found in Batesville, Independence County, Arkansas, USA. ). Many Texans still love and appreciate the food at this Texas treasure. The plane was making unusual noises and was rumored to be having engine trouble. While passing through the Southwest United States, particularly Texas, one will probably encounter big, tall, orange and white signs with a Texas-sized W. This is the sign of the famous Texas fast food restaurant Whataburger. In 1955, Harmon married Grace Williamson. BDT is a merchant bank that invests in family-owned companies. She lived simply and seldom spent the Whataburger money, aside from the many charities to which she contributed. You have funeral questions, we have answers. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Failed to report flower. By Stefano Esposito and Sam Kelly. (Dobson family members also may be ready to cash out.) Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Dobson even cut a deal with a local bakery to make special-sized buns; the Rainbo bakery had to search the country for a company that could make pans big enough to bake them. When everyone told Grace to just let go, the love of her husband and the desire to honor a promise propelled her forward into uncharted territory as she fought to keep the Whataburger legacy alive. However, over the years, Whataburger has become a legend in its own right. Dobson and Burton's goal was to make a burger that took two hands to hold and that tasted good. In my personal opinion, I am glad he did not succeed in striking oil because I would not have been able to enjoy Whataburger. In August, they opened their first location on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, Texas, across the street from Del Mar College. The company also passed the 500-store threshold, making it the nation's eighth-largest hamburger chain. And by the end of 1989, Whataburger was serving hot and fresh food at 440 different locations. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. And as long as they can still get their Green Chile Double Whataburgers or Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits, they probably dont care. Whataburger proposed breaking the stalemate by approving the Laredo location only if Reese agreed to relinquish its lower royalty rate and give Whataburger veto power over all site selections, the lawsuit claims.