Obituaries : Thomas Settles; Founded Group to Feed the Needy
Thomas Settles, who in 1984 served the first of what were to become hundreds of thousands of free meals to the needy, has died at age 40.
His mother, Mildred, said Monday that her son, founder of the city’s Caring Hands program, had died of pneumonia April 17 at a Los Angeles hospital.
At Settles death the program was serving an average of 10,000 homeless and needy a month. In addition to food, Caring Hands provides clothing, shelter, job referrals and job training for those in need.
Caring Hands has also distributed about 150,000 pounds of government surplus cheese at MacArthur Park each year.
Settles gave up a promising career in banking to start Caring Hands, his mother said. She is his only immediate survivor.
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