Stinker Stores Owner & Former CEO Passes Away
BOISE, Idaho — Stinker Stores Inc. announced that owner and former CEO Charley Jones passed away from cancer on Wednesday, Aug. 22.
Stinker was founded as a service station in Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1936 by Farris Lind. The company grew over the years before being purchased by Jones and partner Shawn Davis from Lind's family in 2002. After buying out Davis in 2012, Davis became the majority owner of the company alongside his wife, Nancy.
Nate Brazier, the president and current CEO of Stinker Stores, told the Idaho Statesman in a news release that Jones' business savvy and generous spirit made him the "hero" of the company over the last 22 years.
"Charley was absolutely one in a million," Brazier added. "He is and always will be the greatest stinker of all."
Jones grew up in Boise, attending Borah High School and later graduating from the University of Idaho on a partial ROTC scholarship. He joined the U.S. Army Reserve Finance Corps and earned the rank of captain before becoming a certified public accountant and beginning a career in public accounting. He would eventually move into the C-suite, becoming president of Stein Distributing, an Anheuser-Busch beer distributor in Boise.
Reportedly, Stinker Stores was struggling when Jones and Davis took over the business, though the last two decades have seen stabilization and growth under Jones' leadership. The purchase of J.H. Kaspar Oil Co. in 2019 allowed the company to expand into Wyoming, while the 2017 acquisition of 41 c-stores from Bradley Petroleum Inc. and Sav-O-Mat Inc. gave Stinker a foothold in Colorado.
Jones also won numerous honors for his work with Stinker, including Idaho Business Leader of the Year by Alpha Kappa Psi and a CEO of Influence by the Idaho Business Review.
The company did not disclose Jones' age and information on memorial services have not yet been made public.
Boise-based Stinker Stores employs approximately 1,500 people throughout its 106 locations in Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming.