William F. Scandling, 83; Co-Founded Food Service Company

William F. Scandling, 83, who in 1949 co-founded Saga Corp., a food service and catering firm that grew into a major national operation that was purchased by Marriott Corp. in 1986, died Aug. 22 in Montreal after a brief illness.

He was a resident of Atherton, Calif.

At one point, Saga, which was headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., supplied food to numerous hospitals, colleges and corporations and owned several restaurant chains, including Velvet Turtle and Straw Hat Pizza.

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Scandling was a major benefactor of his alma mater, Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., as well as the University of Rochester.

He is the author of the 1994 book about the company he helped found, “The Saga of Saga: The Life and Death of an American Dream.”