Rural entrepreneur Don Tyson dies at 80

Donald J. Tyson, "an aggressive and visionary entrepreneur who dropped out of college and built his father’s Arkansas chicken business into the behemoth Tyson Foods," died Thursday of cancer, Robert D. McFadden writes for The New York Times. "Don was known by all to work hard, but also to play hard," Tyson President and CEO Donnie Smith said in a statement.  Tyson, who was 80, died at his residence in Springdale, Ark., reports Gavin Lesnick of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. (Photo by University of Arkansas)

Tyson was born in Olathe, Kan., and grew up in Springdale, where he helped his father haul chickens. In 1957, the company built its first poultry-processing plant, and in the 1960s began buying farms and competitors. It went public in 1963, McFadden reports. Tyson became president in 1966 and chairman in 1967. For the next 30 years, the company "grew exponentially. It bought beef, pork and seafood companies, built 60 processing plants and diversified into 6,000 products. It supplied fast-food chains and secured markets abroad. When Mr. Tyson surrendered day-to-day control in 1995, the company ranked 110th on the Fortune 500 list, with sales of $5.2 billion."

Tyson, often "likened to fellow Arkansans Sam Walton, the late Walmart tycoon, and former President Bill Clinton," made his company a household name by successfully marketing Rock Cornish hens. He also helped develop McDonald's chicken McNuggets. (Read more)

Tyson spoke proudly of his father's humble business beginnings, recounting in speeches and to reporters over the years how his father  "came to town in 1932 with 11 cents and a half a load of hay" and started to build a company that would swell into an industry giant, Lesnick reports. The Democrat Gazette has a timeline of Tyson's life. (Read more)