Standing 6 feet, 2 inches, Mandall Kaplan was a man with a commanding presence and a twinkle in his eye, as if something very funny was about to happen.
“He was a robust, vital, forceful man who really took charge,” said his son, Andy. “Wherever he was, he was the center. If you asked him a question, he would respond with a story, then a story would lead to another story. He was truly a raconteur.”
Mr. Kaplan, 91, a longtime resident of Chicago’s Gold Coast and a quick-witted, self-educated businessman with strong progressive political views who was president of Sara Lee in the 1960s, died of pneumonia Thursday, June 29, in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Mr. Kaplan grew up the eldest of four children in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. He skipped several grades and graduated from Senn High School at age 15, said his daughter Jill. He began his studies at the University of Wisconsin, but his stepfather kicked him out of the house and cut off his tuition money after one year, she said.
On his own for the first time, Mr. Kaplan entered the business world. In the 1930s he worked for the Office of Price Administration and as an accountant for the Spiegel catalog. In the 1940s he co-owned and managed City Tool Co., a metal-stamping tool-and-die business that made keys for clients such as General Motors, his son said.
“He had a lighting-quick mind and he could work with figures faster than anyone I know,” his son said.
“Accounting was a profession that was relatively easy for him.”
In 1941 he married Ruth Morris, a pianist and choral director he met in high school, his daughter said. Ruth’s father had disapproved of Mr. Kaplan and urged her to marry another man. But Mr. Kaplan waited for her, and when that marriage ended in divorce, he reunited with her. They had been married more than 50 years when Mrs. Kaplan died in 1993.
“I remember her showing me this pin that he had given to her in 1940 when the divorce was to be final and they were to be married,” his daughter said. “It symbolized that they were finally getting together.”
Mr. Kaplan and his wife were active fundraisers and raised money to support chamber music and classical music performances, including an event featuring renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz, his son said. The couple were also active in the Progressive Party and raised money for performances featuring Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.
Mr. Kaplan’s political leanings forced him to sell his share of City Tool, which had a contract with the U.S. Army. When the House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Mr. Kaplan, the Army threatened to end the contract. He decided it was best to leave, and he became marketing manager for the Kitchens of Sara Lee, his son said.
His marketing ideas helped the company grow from a specialty frozen-good seller to a leading dessertmaker, his son said.
“He suggested instead of just making cheesecake, they might want to think about chocolate,” his son said.
Mr. Kaplan left Sara Lee in 1968 after several years as president and went on to run executive training sessions for Unilever Corp., his son said. In his later years, Mr. Kaplan worked as a consultant, played bridge and read voraciously, from history books to mysteries, his daughter said.
He was “very passionate,” she said. “He raised us all to really know right from wrong from a moral sense and a political sense.”
Other survivors include another daughter, Jean Goldman, and seven grandchildren. No services are planned.
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jfrancisco@tribune.com
