Joseph Coors
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Joseph Coors (November 12, 1917 – March 15, 2003), was the grandson of Adolph Coors and an heir to the Coors beer empire.
Coors graduated from Cornell University in 1939 with a degree in chemical engineering, staying to earn a master's degree in 1940. His brother Adolph Coors III and cousin Dallas Morse Coors were his classmates, and all three were members of the Quill and Dagger society.
Coors served one term as a regent of the University of Colorado, attempting to quell what he considered to be campus radicalism.
Coors died in Rancho Mirage, California after a three-month battle with lymphatic cancer.
[edit] Brewing career
After graduation, he began work in the ceramics division of Coors Co.; the porcelain business helped support the company during Prohibition. With his brother, William Coors, Joseph refined the cold-filtered beer manufacturing system and began the nation's first large-scale recycling program by offering 1-cent returns on Coors aluminum cans. He served as president from 1977 to 1985 and chief operating officer from 1980 to 1988. His leadership helped expand Coors beer distribution from western states to the entire nation.[1]
[edit] Politics
Coors was perhaps best known for his conservative politics. A founding member of the Heritage Foundation along with Paul Weyrich and Edwin Feulner, Coors provided $250,000 to the think tank to cover its first year budget. He was also involved with the founding of the Free Congress Foundation and the Council for National Policy. He was a member of Ronald Reagan's Kitchen Cabinet, helping finance Reagan's political career as governor of California and U.S. president.[2]
