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Rose from Obscurity to Become Leader in the Industry Franklin C. Mars succumbed to heart and kidney ailments at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore April 8. He was taken ill at his home, 930 Ashland avenue, River Forest, in August, 1933. Mr. Mars was born in Newport, Minnesota, on September 24, 1883. His father, Luther Mars, came from Mars, Pennsylvania, which was founded by his ancestors six genera tions ago. Elva Holton his mother, was born in Minnesota, and was a direct descendant of the Holtons end reys, original pioneers of Min nesota. , Mr. Mars is survived by Mrs. Mars, formerly Ethel V. Healy, whom he married in 1910; their daughter, Mrs. William H. Furst of Chicago; a sis ter, Mrs. Henry Nelson of Glendale, California; and a son by a former marriage, Forrest E. Mars of London, England. After graduating from the Blair Preparatory school and Mankato Business college, he began seling candy at the age of eleen. In 1910 he entered the wholesale candy business in Tacoma, Washington. In 1920 he founded the Mar-O-Barcom y in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and started the manufacture of candy bars. He introduced the Milky Way bar in 1923, which developed into the largest selling candy bar on the mar ket. This company was incorporated in 1927 under the name of Mars, In corporated. In 1929 the business was moved to Chicago where the present Spanish design sun-lit plant was built, which is a dream come true in factories. ‘ His unprecedented rise as a man acturer of candy barn has marked him as a business genius. The story of Mars, Incorporated, its ideals, or nization and its successes is, in eed, a romance in industry. Mr. ‘Mars was recognized as the leader of the candy bar industry and was relied upon during the past year in working out a code for specialty manufacturers, and his activity in working out this code undoubtedly hastened his death. Mr. Mars was a man known throughout the industry for his great courage and foresight. He leaves a great host of friends and admirers in all walks of life. He was a great lover of horses and cattle, operating the Milky Way Farms in Tennesee for that purpose. He established a reputation for his blooded Short-Horned and Herefordas. Last year he purchased twenty thor oughbred race horses, which he was to enter in races this year, opening the season in Kentucky. Mr. Mars was a member of vari ous clubs, and honorary captain of the Oak Park police force. He was an exceptionally charitable person and a beloved employer. Indicative of this was his recent tendous gift of a block of stock to his oldest em ployees. No citation could be more loyal to their employer than the personnel of Mars, Incorporated. He will be buried at Milky Way Farms, Pulaski, Tennessee, in an es tially built mausoleum of native linestone. Services will be con ducted in the club house of the es tate, by the Reverend Father Calla en Tiare Friday morning, April 13,
Newspaper Details
Oak Park Oak Parker
Oak Park, Illinois, US
Fri, Apr 13, 1934
Page 40
Full Page
Clipped by
Patrick D.
GB 09 Jul 2026
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