Robert Jaeb, entrepreneur, benefactor, dies
Coming to Tampa from Canada, he built a business empire worth millions, much of which he gave to many causes.
By LESLIE PAREDES
Published September 10, 2005
It's the American Dream.
Coming to America searching for a better life, searching for a chance at making something from nothing.
Robert Jaeb was a testament to the American Dream, rising from the humility of selling produce on the corner of his father's orange grove to owning 450 convenience stores in Florida and Georgia.
Former Gov. Bob Martinez said Mr. Jaeb believed in this dream to the point of passion. He and his wife gave generously - millions of dollars - to local charities and community interest groups and local and national political organizations.
After nearly 70 years of unflagging hard work and support for the community that he said gave him everything, Robert Jaeb, humanitarian, philanthropist and political enthusiast, died Monday (Sept. 5, 2005). He was 94.
Mr. Jaeb's son, John Jaeb, said Canada's Saskatchewan plains were his father's first home. His roots were a rural town in the middle of vast nothingness where the Great Depression had made work a priority over everything, even education.
Despite only reaching the eighth grade, Mr. Jaeb succeeded after moving to Tampa. His father's orange grove, where he set up a fruit stand to sell the grove's produce, offered him his first taste of business.
"He was never harsh or bitter about having to work hard," said Al Higginbotham, the Hillsborough County Republican Party chairman, "In fact, he believed in working hard."
Mr. Jaeb devoted his time and energy to building a convenience store empire: 450 stores that spread from South Florida to Georgia.
"He started the convenience store company in 1959 when it was pretty much an infant industry," said John Jaeb. "Then self-service gasoline stations came along and it made the convenience store industry into a valuable industry."
After 40 years of building his business - the Shop & Go Inc. chain - Mr. Jaeb sold it in 1985 to the Circle K corporation, allowing him to devote himself to other interests.
"He never really had a lot of hobbies growing up, but after he turned 60 he was very passionate about golf," John Jaeb joked.
After his retirement at age 74, Mr. Jaeb and his wife, Lorena Jaeb, whom he married in 1941, soon became a power couple in both the philanthropic and political circles of the local community.
The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center has the Robert and Lorena Jaeb Theater, named in honor of them and recognition of their $1.5-million dollar gift in 1986, a year before the center opened.
The University of Tampa received a similar donation in 1999: $1-million for a new student center and an expanded and renovated library.
"He focused on whatever he did," said Martinez, "Whether it was going into business, standing up for what he believed in politically, in my view, he didn't veer. He advocated what he lived, and unlike most people, he put his money where his beliefs were."
Politically, Mr. Jaeb is remembered as not only a great financial supporter of various Republican political organizations, but also as a quiet yet influential political thinker.
"He was an incredibly humble and unassuming person," said east Hillsborough businessman and GOP political activist Sam Rashid. "You'd have a whole room discussing the issues at hand, and they would have all sorts of viewpoints, but when the noise would die down, he would present his argument. It was amazing how he could just turn everyone to his cause."
John Jaeb believes his father's success came from never forgetting where he came from, the humble land in Canada, the produce stand in Tampa.
"He was just a low-profile, low-key, accessible businessman," said Higginbotham. "He was a great asset to this community, and the way he gave back to his community will live on."
Mr. Jaeb is survived by his wife of 63 years, Lorena; two sons, John, of Tampa, and Steven, of Dover; two daughters-in-law, Stacey, of Tampa and Sandra, of Dover; four sisters, Florence Egger and Caroline Mueller, both of Saskatchewan, Canada, and Arlene Wright and Eunice Lopez, both of Tampa; and two grandchildren, Joel and Joseph, both of Dover.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Grace Bible Church, 1010 E Brandon Blvd. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center or LifePath Hospice.
Leslie Paredes can be reached at 813 226-3339 or lparedes@sptimes.com