John F Grundhofer

John "Jack" Grundhofer, chairman emeritus of U.S. Bancorp and a prominent Coachella Valley philanthropist, died Sunday January 24 2021 at his home in Indian Wells, California. He was 82. Grundhofer, who lived part of the year in Indian Wells, served as vice chairman of the Palm Springs International Film Festival and served on the board of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, among others. Grundhofer was born in Los Angeles in 1939.Grundhofer took on a daily newspaper route at age 12 to earn money so his family would not lose their home. In high school, Grundhofer worked as a stock boy in a department store. He attended Loyola University on a baseball scholarship and mowed lawns to help pay for his expenses. He earned a degree in economics and went to work for Union Bank as a credit analyst and trainee. He returned to school at night and in 1964 earned his MBA in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Southern California. Over his 18-year career at Union Bank, Grundhofer rose to be regional vice president for Orange County. In 1978, he joined San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank as executive vice president of the Southern California Retail Banking Group. In 1990, Grundhofer was recruited from Wells Fargo to lead First Bank System as chairman, president and CEO. Under Grundhofer, the company’s growth strategy included over 35 strategic acquisitions, including that of U. S. Bancorp, based in Portland. Grundhofer retired from U.S. Bancorp in 2002. The year before that, the company was bought by Milwaukee-based Firstar Corp., which was headed by Grundhofer's brother, Jerry. In late 1990, Grundhofer's college-aged daughter Karen was shot seven times by a man who randomly opened fire in a Berkeley hotel bar, according to the Times. Barely six weeks later, Grundhofer was abducted at gunpoint from a downtown Minneapolis parking garage and forced to make a ransom demand from his car phone. The kidnapper strapped sticks of dynamite to Grundhofer’s arm and made him drive them to a wooded area in northwestern Wisconsin. Tied up and left alone by the kidnapper, Grundhofer managed to free himself and sought help at a nearby farmhouse. The ransom was not paid, and the kidnapper was not found. The incident was later featured on Unsolved Mysteries. He received the Horatio Alger Award in 1997. Grundhofer and his wife Patti divided their time between Indian Wells, Minneapolis, Sioux Falls and Livingston, Mont. Grundhofer is survived by his wife Patti Grundhofer, daughters Karen Grundhofer and Kathy Grundhofer (Kevin Chatow), and grandchildren Ramzi, Aliya, Zakaria, Tyler and Katie. In addition, he is survived by his brother, Jerry Grundhofer (Kathleen); niece, Lauren Peterson (Christopher); sister, Joan Briggs and nephew, Jeff Briggs (Jing). Retired Chairman (1990-1997 and 1999-2002), Chief Executive Officer (1990-2001) and President (1990-1999 and 2000-2001) of U.S. Bancorp, a financial services provider. Also a director of Securian Financial Group, Inc., BJ's Restaurants, Inc., and Capmark Financial Group, Inc.