Helen Robson Walton, 87; Wal-Mart founder’s widow known for philanthropy
Helen Robson Walton, the widow of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton who was known for her philanthropic efforts, died Thursday evening at her home in Bentonville, Ark., of what the company said was natural causes.
She was 87 and had been in poor health since a 1999 car accident.
“We are so proud of our mother and the life she led,” said Rob Walton, the couple’s eldest son and chairman of Wal-Mart Stores. “She devoted much of her life to helping others.”
Walton was born Dec. 3, 1919, in Claremore, Okla., to L.S. and Hazel Carr Robson. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in finance.
She met Sam Walton, a native of Kingfisher, Okla., in 1942, and they married the next year. He died in 1992 at the age of 74.
In 1945, after her husband completed military service in World War II, the couple moved to Newport, Ark., where they opened a Ben Franklin “five and dime” store. Five years later, they moved to Bentonville, where Sam Walton continued his career in retailing.
In 1962, the Waltons opened the first Wal-Mart in nearby Rogers. Other stores followed, and the chain grew into the largest retailer in the world but kept its headquarters in Bentonville. The company now has more than 6,500 stores in 15 countries.
Members of the Walton family are listed among the world’s wealthiest people every year.
In March, Forbes magazine listed Helen Walton as the 29th richest individual in the world with a fortune estimated at $16.4 billion. All three of her surviving children were ahead of her on the list.
She was widely known in Arkansas for her philanthropy, focusing on education, the arts, and families and children. She also was active in the Presbyterian Church locally and nationally.
She was president of the Walton Family Foundation in 2002 when it made a $300-million gift to the University of Arkansas, which followed an earlier $50-million grant to the university’s Sam M. Walton College of Business.
Helen Walton also set up the Walton Scholars program for the children of Wal-Mart employees, providing scholarships to 150 children annually.
She and her husband led the development of a program to help students from Central America attend three private Arkansas colleges. About 1,000 foreign students have participated in the program since 1985.
She is also survived by another son, Jim; a daughter, Alice Walton; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Another son, John Walton, died in 2005 at the age of 58 when a homemade experimental plane he was flying crashed in Wyoming.
