Hugh Wilkens Colton; Rancher, Lawyer, War Hero, Entrepreneur

Hugh Wilkens Colton, 89, a rancher, lawyer, war hero and co-founder of the company that later became the Marriott Corp. In 1927, Colton opened a root beer stand in Washington with his longtime friend, J. Willard Marriott. The partners went on to open three Hot Shoppes restaurants before Colton sold his interest to Marriott for $5,000. Colton, who graduated from the University of Utah and George Washington Law School, was a commander in the Utah National Guard. He was called to active duty before Pearl Harbor and commanded troops that landed at Normandy on D-Day.