Wilfred L. Von der Ahe
Funeral services were held here last week for Wilfred L. Von der Ahe, co-founder of Vons Grocery Co.
Von der Ahe, 88, died Nov. 20 of congestive heart failure.
Wil Von der Ahe and his brother, Ted, worked at the original Vons chain, founded by their father. That chain was sold in 1929, shortly before the stock market crash.
Three years later the Von der Ahe brothers opened a new chain of Vons stores, starting with a single unit in Lynwood, Calif., that consisted of the two brothers and two employees. The company went public in 1947 when it had 28 stores with annual sales of $100 million.
Wil Von der Ahe retired in 1975. Vons was sold in 1997 to Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif.
Von der Ahe was a former vice president of Super Market Institute and the National Association of Food Chains and past president of the Western Association of Food Chains and the California Grocers Association.
