DAVID B. JENKINS ’53

DAVID B. JENKINS, 83, the former chairman, president and CEO of Shaw’s Supermarkets and a Wesleyan Trustee Emeritus, died June 17, 2014. He was the son-in-law of Wandell McM. Mooney of the class of 1918. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with honors and with distinction in English, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School he served in the U.S. Navy and then joined his family’s firm, a maker of fiber-based materials. He then transitioned to the grocery business, which he learned from the ground up. Among his accomplishments at Shaw’s was the creation of the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) model, a revolutionary inventory management method that became a standard in the grocery industry. He served as chairman of the Food Marketing Institute from 1990 to 1992 and also chaired FMI’s ECR committee, and he received the Sidney Rabb Award for his commitment to the industry. He served on numerous boards of directors, both for corporations and for non-profit organizations, and took on leadership roles for several institutions. As a Wesleyan Trustee, he chaired the Alumni Fund as well as the Campus Affairs Committee. He received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Wesleyan, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus Award. His wife, Joy Mooney Jenkins, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife, Shirley Muirhead Jenkins; two children, including Susan Jenkins Warren ’83; five grandchildren, including Hannah Jenkins ’15; a brother, George O. Jenkins ’56; several nephews, including Stephen E. Mooney ’80 and John B. Mooney ’82; several nieces, including Gail J. Farris ’84 and grandnieces Kimberley B. Farris ’14 and Jennifer G. Farris ’16; and several stepchildren, including Susan M. Bates ’78 and Judith Kiplinger ’81.