Ruth Sanders, founder of Sierra View Sales, was 71
Ruth Sanders, founder of Sierra View Sales, was 71
Ruth Sanders, a former board member of Mendelson-Zeller and the founder of Sierra View Sales Inc. in Fresno, CA, died June 21 after a prolonged illness. She was 71.
Born Sept. 6, 1934, in Omaha, NE, Ms. Sanders worked as a dispatcher for a trucking company for about three years before moving to California in 1958.
"Within a couple of years" after arriving in California "she went to work for Mendelson-Zeller," one of the larger produce companies in California at the time, recalled her son, J.D. Ward. She started there as a truck dispatcher on the Los Angeles market and continued working for Mendelson-Zeller for more than 30 years, "ending up on the board of directors" before the company sold to Campbell's Soup Co., he said.
From about 1969 on, she sold a strawberry deal out of Oxnard for Mendelson-Zeller, and she continued working for the company for several years after its sale.
For part of the 1980s, Ms. Sanders worked on sales for Kirk Produce. "But she wanted to start a company of her own" and wanted her son to move down from Oregon to help her with it. He did so, and in 1989 they formed Sierra View Sales, a marketing company specializing in grapes, tree fruit and citrus. The company started out selling grapes from Vignolo Farms in Shafter, CA, and continued selling that deal through the 2001 season, he said. In 2002, she sold the company, which continues in business.
Ms. Sanders was "well respected" in the produce business, and she "opened a lot of doors for a lot of women" in the business, Mr. Ward said. When she started, there were few women in the business.
In addition to her son, Ms. Sanders is survived by two brothers, Hal Beach and George Beach.
Born Sept. 6, 1934, in Omaha, NE, Ms. Sanders worked as a dispatcher for a trucking company for about three years before moving to California in 1958.
"Within a couple of years" after arriving in California "she went to work for Mendelson-Zeller," one of the larger produce companies in California at the time, recalled her son, J.D. Ward. She started there as a truck dispatcher on the Los Angeles market and continued working for Mendelson-Zeller for more than 30 years, "ending up on the board of directors" before the company sold to Campbell's Soup Co., he said.
From about 1969 on, she sold a strawberry deal out of Oxnard for Mendelson-Zeller, and she continued working for the company for several years after its sale.
For part of the 1980s, Ms. Sanders worked on sales for Kirk Produce. "But she wanted to start a company of her own" and wanted her son to move down from Oregon to help her with it. He did so, and in 1989 they formed Sierra View Sales, a marketing company specializing in grapes, tree fruit and citrus. The company started out selling grapes from Vignolo Farms in Shafter, CA, and continued selling that deal through the 2001 season, he said. In 2002, she sold the company, which continues in business.
Ms. Sanders was "well respected" in the produce business, and she "opened a lot of doors for a lot of women" in the business, Mr. Ward said. When she started, there were few women in the business.
In addition to her son, Ms. Sanders is survived by two brothers, Hal Beach and George Beach.
