T. Wrubel, 48; Helped Start Nature Co. Chain
Thomas Wrubel, a one-time Peace Corps volunteer who co-founded the Nature Co. with his former wife, has died at the age of 48.
Wrubel died of cancer Wednesday at UC San Francisco Medical Center.
A graduate of Choate, Yale and UCLA, Wrubel was teaching African lore at Mills College in Oakland when he and his wife, Priscilla, drew on their experiences in Africa to open their first store in Berkeley in 1973.
“We sold tools to watch birds, not destroy them,” he once said.
The business grew to 28 stores on both coasts and the Midwest.
Wrubel spent five years in the Peace Corps in the 1960s.
Wrubel is survived by his former wife, two sons, a brother, his mother and a companion.
The memorial service was set for Monday in Tilden Park in Berkeley.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
