Toys R Us Announced Shutdown, Then Its Founder Died

Charles Lazarus was 94

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted Mar 22, 2018 4:32 PM CDT

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Founder Died Days After Toys R Us Announced Shutdown — In this Jan. 7, 1992 file photo, President George H. Bush listens to Toys R Us Chairman Charles Lazarus as he visits the toy chain's second store to open in Japan. (AP Photo, File)

Charles Lazarus, the WWII veteran who founded Toy R Us, has died at age 94, a week after the iconic chain he started six decades ago announced it will shut down its stores across the US. The AP reports Toy R Us confirmed Lazarus' death in a statement Thursday. "There have been many sad moments for Toys R Us in recent weeks, and none more heartbreaking than today's news about the passing of our beloved founder, Charles Lazarus," the statement read.

Lazarus first opened a baby furniture store in Washington, DC, in 1948 and opened the first store dedicated only to toys in 1957. He stepped down as CEO of Toys R Us in 1994.

(Read more Toys 'R' Us stories.)