Stuart G. Moldaw
1927-May 24, 2008
Atherton, California

Stuart G. Moldaw, 81, a resident of Atherton, founder of Ross Stores and other retail companies, died May 24 after a brief illness.

In addition to founding several innovative retail companies, he was a philanthropist who served on the boards of nonprofit agencies, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, KQED, San Francisco Ballet and Moldaw-Zaffaroni Boys and Girls Club of East Palo Alto.

He also served on the board of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and co-founded U.S. Venture Partners, a Menlo Park-based venture capital firm.

He founded Ross Dress for Less Stores in 1982. The company grew from an initial six stores to more than 900 in 27 states.

He was born in Boston, Mass., the son of a Russian immigrant. He served with the Navy during World War II and attended college after the war on the G.I. Bill at Syracuse University.

He began his retail career at Le Bon Marche, a Massachusetts department store, and moved to California in the mid-1950s.

A lifelong entrepreneur, he founded his first retail company in 1958. Other companies he founded were Gymboree, Home Express, Pic-A-Dilly and Athletic Shoe Factory.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis of Atherton; daughters, Carol and Susan Moldaw; and four grandchildren.

Tags: veteran, business