True Value Founder Who Introduced Direct Mail to Chain Dies: Reports

Edward E. Lanctot, whose Chicago-based hardware store eventually became the True Value hardware chain, died in Park Ridge, IL last week. He was 84.

The cause of death was complications from a stroke, according to published reports.

Lanctot, along with John Cotter, banded independent hardware stores into a buying collective shortly after World War II ended. Lanctot was responsible for the company