Marriott, Founder of Hotel Conglomerate, Dies at 84

J. Willard Marriott, who started a root beer stand with borrowed money and turned it into the Marriott hotel and restaurant conglomerate, died of an apparent heart attack, hospital officials said today. He was 84.

Marriott was taken by ambulance from his Tuftonboro summer home, overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee, to Huggins Hospital at 8 p.m. Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m., hospital supervisor Marilyn Barba said.

Marriott was chairman of the Marriott Corp., based in Rockville, Md. He had turned over the day-to-day operations to his son, J. Willard Jr., more than 20 years ago. The conglomerate includes 125 hotels around the world as well as 2,500 fast-food restaurants, airline flight kitchens and catering operations. In addition to being a leader in the Mormon church, Marriott was a big contributor to the Republican Party and a close friend of former President Richard M. Nixon. He was chairman of Nixon’s inaugural committees in 1969 and 1973 and hired Nixon’s brother, Donald, to scout sites for Marriott hotels.

In 1927, supplementing $1,000 in savings with a $1,500 loan, he opened a nine-seat A&W; root beer stand in Washington, D.C. He added Mexican food to the menu and named it The Hot Shoppe.

The business grew into America’s largest food, lodging and leisure service system, the Marriott Corp.

In 1937, he began catering meals for airlines and 20 years later opened his first hotel--The Twin Bridges Marriott--in Virginia across the Potomac from Washington.

From there the empire grew into a billion-dollar international conglomerate that includes Roy Rogers Family Restaurants, Bob’s Big Boy Coffee Shops, Junior Hot Shoppes and Farrell’s Ice Cream.

In 1933, Marriott suffered from a disease of the lymphatic system and was told he had only two years to live. He took six months off and returned to work.