Edward Hines

Edward Hines spent more than 50 years working for the family lumber business that his grandfather founded in 1892. As president and CEO of Edward Hines Lumber Co. for more than 25 years, Mr. Hines navigated the firm through building booms and busts and — in a risky move that he characterized at the time as making him "an entrepreneur" — taking the company private in 1985. Born in Chicago and raised in Winnetka's Hubbard Woods area, Mr. Hines attended North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka for grade school and high school. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1957 from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. Upon graduating college, Mr. Hines immediately joined his family business. In 1979, Mr. Hines' father, Charles, retired from the company, and Mr. Hines took over. The housing market slump of the early 1980s hit the firm hard, and with the company's stock price sagging, one prominent shareholder soon began agitating for a sale. In 1985, Mr. Hines proposed a buyout that effectively split up the company. He acquired the firm's Chicago-area retail outlets and a plant in St. Charles. Other assets, such as a distribution network and a lumberyard on the South Side, were sold off. Mr. Hines retired as president and CEO in late 2007, handing the reins to longtime lieutenant Gerald Wille. Mr. Hines remained as chairman until 2013. The company struggled in the most recent housing crisis and was sold to a private-equity firm in 2010. Mr. Hines also is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Marcia; two daughters, Elizabeth Bigelow and Heather Clessuras; his son Mac and 10 grandchildren.