Margaret Heinz Karcher, 91; Wife of the Founder of the Carl’s Jr. Restaurant Chain

Margaret Heinz Karcher, whose husband Carl founded the Carl’s Jr. restaurant chain, has died. She was 91.

Karcher died Tuesday of liver cancer in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she was undergoing treatments, her son Carl Leo Karcher said in a statement.

“My mother and father built this business based on their belief in hard work and their strong faith in God,” he said.

The Karchers got into the fast-food business in Los Angeles in 1941 when Carl borrowed $311, using their Plymouth sedan as collateral, and bought a hot dog stand at the corner of Florence and Central avenues.

He added four more stands before opening a full-service restaurant, Carl’s Drive-in Barbeque, in Anaheim in 1945.

Nine years later Karcher opened the first two Carl’s Jr. restaurants that soon became known for their hamburgers. There are now more than 1,000 restaurants in the chain, most of them in the Western and Southwestern United States.

Margaret Magdalen Heinz Karcher was born March 2, 1915, in Big River, Wis., one of 15 siblings. She moved with her parents to Anaheim, where her father grew oranges.

She graduated from Fullerton High School and a business school in Santa Ana before she worked as an office assistant at a law firm.

She married Karcher in 1939. The couple had 12 children. All but one of her children survive her, as do her husband, 51 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren. Their daughter Carleen died in 1993 of complications from bladder surgery.

Along with raising her children Karcher served on the board of directors of Carl Karcher Enterprises and was a member of the Anaheim Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Angels of the Arts for the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

She also was a benefactor of Mercy House and Regina House, two centers in Santa Ana that serve the homeless.

A vigil service for Karcher will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Boniface Catholic Church, 120 N. Janss St., Anaheim. A funeral Mass will be held at the church at 10 a.m. June 15.

Contributions in her name can be made to Mercy House, P.O. Box 1905, Santa Ana, CA 92702. It was founded by her son, the Rev. Jerome Karcher. Contributions also can be made to Providence Speech and Hearing Center, 1301 Providence Ave., Orange, CA 92868.