Wallace “Wally” Amos, Jr., founding father of the “Well-known Amos” cookies identified and beloved nationwide, died at 88 on Wednesday, his household mentioned.
The American entrepreneur died peacefully at his dwelling along with his spouse Carol by his facet after a battle with dementia, Amos’ youngsters, Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn, mentioned in an announcement.
Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Amos constructed his model from one bakery in 1975 in Hollywood, California, and a household recipe.
“Our dad impressed a technology of entrepreneurs,” his youngsters mentioned, including, “Along with his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Well-known Amos was an excellent American success story, and a supply of Black delight. It is also a part of our household story for which we are going to perpetually be grateful and proud.”
“Huge was in, however Wally Amos dared to go small and perfected the last word bite-size chocolate chip cookie,” the model’s web site says. After that, Amos and his cookies grew to become a Hollywood success story. “Iconic musicians and different Hollywood celebrities started singing the praises of the scrumptious cookies from a small bakery on Sundown,” the web site says.
In his later years, Amos grew to become a proprietor of a cookie store referred to as Chip & Cookie in Hawaii, the place he moved in 1977, the Related Press reported. He was additionally a co-founder of Uncle Wally’s Muffin Co., whose merchandise are additionally present in shops nationwide.
However Amos mentioned the celebrity by no means actually mattered a lot to him. “Being well-known is extremely overrated anyway,” Amos informed The Related Press in 2007.
Wally’s son Shawn, a blues musician and creator, helped create the primary store in Hollywood along with his father. Shawn Amos’ guide, Cookies and Milk, printed in 2022, is predicated partly on his experiences rising up because the son of the Well-known Amos founder.
“It is a guide about pleasure, it is a guide about fathers and sons who wish to be seen by one another,” he mentioned on CBS Mornings.
Shawn mentioned he labored the entrance of the shop whereas his father baked cookies within the again.
Amos’ youngsters praised their father for educating them the worth of laborious work, believing in themselves, and chasing their goals. “He was a real authentic Black American hero,” they mentioned of their assertion.
Amos was additionally an lively promoter of studying. He wrote eight books, served as spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America for twenty-four years and delivered motivational talks to companies, universities and different teams, AP reported. His volunteerism earned him the Nationwide Literacy Award, which was introduced to him by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, in response to AP.
“Your best contribution to your nation just isn’t your signature straw hat within the Smithsonian, however the individuals you could have impressed to study to learn,” Bush mentioned.
This story was initially printed by CBS Information on Aug. 14, 2024.
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