Jack D. Crouch

Jack Dyer Crouch (22 October 1915 - 25 July 1989) was an American entrepreneur and conglomerate organizer born in Columbia, Missouri. He has 4 sons, (J. Richard Crouch, Jack Crouch II, Robert Crouch, Michael Crouch), and 2 daughters, (Cathy Crouch, Michelle Crouch)

He created the Hyatt Hotel chain in 1954 with his partner Hyatt R. von Dehn, and later became a Hilton Hotel Franchise Owner in the United States. He is accredited with conceptualizing and building the world's first fly-in (airport) hotel, The Hyatt House Los Angeles. Prior to that, he owned "Jack's on the Strip" in Hollywood, one of the first drive-thru restaurants in California. It was there that he would meet Hyatt R. von Dehn, who would soon invest in his airport hotel concept.

Jack Dyer Crouch II is a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Ambassador to Romania, Deputy National Security Adviser, and Assistant to the President. Also, from 1993 to 2001, Crouch was Associate Professor of Defense and Strategic Studies at Southwest Missouri State University. He was member of the Board of Editors of Comparative Strategy and a member of the Board of Advisers of the Center for Security Policy. While at Missouri, he also served as a reserve deputy sheriff in Christian County.