John M. Belk | Businessman, mayor, 87
John Montgomery Belk, 87, a former chairman and chief executive of Belk Inc. and mayor of Charlotte, N.C., for nearly a decade, died Friday at his home, the company said. The cause of death was not announced.
John Montgomery Belk, 87, a former chairman and chief executive of Belk Inc. and mayor of Charlotte, N.C., for nearly a decade, died Friday at his home, the company said. The cause of death was not announced.
Mr. Belk helped build the department store chain into a regional power after spending 50 years as its helm. He also served four terms as mayor in North Carolina's largest city, from 1969 to 1977.
The company is the nation's largest privately owned department store, with more than 310 stores in 16 states in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic.
Mr. Belk, the son of company founder William Henry Belk, joined the company in 1945 after his service during World War II in the Army. His first job was at the downtown Charlotte store.
He held management positions in the company's central buying office and became president of the various Belk store corporations in the early 1950s. He retired in May 2004. - AP