John Haas Scudder (1912 - 1983)

Born 29 Oct 1912 in Washington, United States

Ancestors

Died 3 Jan 1983 at age 70 in Los Angeles, California, United States

Biography

John was born 29 Oct 1912, in Washington.

He married Valerie Adela Schmidt, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Arthur A. Schmidt in October 1942.

John had worked for his mother's food processing company since the 1930s, and following her death in 1958, succeeded her as president of the Laura Scudder potato chip company. He served only two years, before retiring in 1960. After his retirement, he joined his sons in a family investment firm, Brothers for Enterprise in Fountain Valley.

John Scudder made headlines on 19 Aug 1976, when he was abducted from his dentist's parking lot in Huntington Beach, and forced into a motor home by two armed and masked men. The kidnappers demanded a $250,000 ransom but John foiled the scheme by feigning a heart attack and falling out of the van into the street. The kidnappers could not drive away in the traffic snarl that resulted and they ran off, leaving their wallets and motel key in the van. Both men were sentenced to life in prison.

John died of a ruptured aorta at the age of 70, 3 Jan 1983, at the New Port Beach Hospital, where he'd been driven by family after complaining of back pains. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Scudder was survived by his wife, four sons, and two sisters.

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 07 April 2021), memorial page for John Haas Scudder (29 Oct 1912–3 Jan 1983), Find a Grave Memorial no. 138978609, citing Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, USA ; Maintained by Romper90069 (contributor 1277) .