Rex David

Dave Thomas was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 2nd, 1932. He never knew his real parents as he was adopted by a Michigan family as an infant. His adoptive parents were Rex and Auleva Thomas. Rex and Auleva adopted Dave when he was only 6 months old. Auleva died when he was only 5, though, and Dave had a lonely childhood. He was left behind with just his father, who worked hard to keep the family together.

Dave Thomas (Google)

Dave spent most of his early childhood moving around from state-to-state, all around the country, following his father's job. Rex was divorced and remarried 3 times after Auleva's death, and he didn't pay much attention to Dave because he was always working. Dave spent many summers with his grandmother, Minnie Sinclair, who lived in Michigan. Minnie taught him all the good values she learned as a child- the ones she lived by and thought Dave ought to live by, too. These lessons could have been the reason why Dave was so successful with his business career. Needless to say, those summers were Dave's most cherished memories of his childhood.

Dave started working when he was only 12. He got fired from his first two jobs, a result of lying about his age. He then started his third job, a waiter at a restaurant in Tennessee. He lied about his age there, too, but he was such a good worker they decided to let him stay. Through working, Dave fell in love with the restaurant business. When he was 15, he dropped out of school to work at a restaurant, The Hobby House, full-time. Dave's dad and his step-family soon moved again, but Dave stayed to work in Ft. Wayne, lived at the YMCA, and worked full-time. Dave eventually moved in with the owners of The Hobby House Restaurant. This family was very loving and supported Dave in all he did.

Wendy's (Google)

When he was younger, Dave and his father ate at many different types of restaurants. By the time he was 9, Dave was sure he knew how to run his own restaurant. In the winter of 1969, in downtown Columbus, Ohio, Dave founded the first Wendy's. By early 1989, he had already appeared on many Wendy's commercials. Dave was a wonderful spokesperson and had an amazing career. During this time span, he appeared on over 800 commercials!

Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (Google)

He wasn't done yet, though! In 1992, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. This foundation was a non-profit organization to help make adopting easier and more affordable. Its trademark was, 'Adopting a Child, Shaping a Life, Building a Home, Creating a World.' This phrase has also appeared on a 33 cent stamp, in 1992.

Dave died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2002. He had been fighting a hard battle with his cancer for 10 years, but he died with the knowledge that 6,000 successful chains of his restaurant were operating.

Dave Thomas is not only my hero because I love Wendy's, but also because I know he didn't have a very good childhood. Yet, in spite of all the odds, he accomplished a lot of amazing things.