Walter Drake Dead at 80
(Catalog Age)–Walter Drake, who in 1947 founded the general merchandise catalog that bears his name, died on March 30 of natural causes. He was 80.
Drake ran the Colorado Springs, CO-based company until 1997, when he sold it to multititle cataloger Foster & Gallagher. After Foster & Gallagher filed for Chapter 11 this past summer and subsequently closed in the fall, Brecon Capital stepped in and bought Walter Drake out of auction for $15 million, keeping the catalog and all its employees intact.
After being shot in the back twice by a mugger in 1968, Drake used a wheelchair. But the infirmity did not stop him from continuing to run the company until 1997.
He is survived by his wife and three children, Walter Drake Jr., Markwell Pine Drake, and Tina Kimbell.
