James "Jim" A. Demme

James Demme, Food Retail Industry Expert, Dies Suddenly. James A. "Jim" Demme, a veteran supermarket executive, passed away suddenly over the weekend. Demme, 77, was born in Buffalo, NY on July 16, 1940, where he launched a remarkable 60 year career in the food retail/distribution industry. As a well- known veteran in this sector, Jim held numerous executive level positions at food retailers nationwide. Jim was well regarded for his expertise in turnarounds, having previously served in senior leadership roles with companies like Scrivner, Penn Traffic Co., Bruno's Supermarkets and Homeland Supermarkets. He also served senior leadership roles with Shaw's, A&P and Kings Super Markets. Jim also served as Senior Advisor at Angelo Gordon, Chairman of Kings Supermarkets and as recent Chairman of the Board at Fairway Markets in NYC. Jim was a well-respected and revered professional with a long-standing reputation for brilliant business insights, grace under pressure, and unrelenting focus on customer service. Throughout his career Jim and his wife Rae made their homes in Buffalo, NY; Duxbury, MA; Oklahoma City, OK; Birmingham AL; Destin and Sarasota, FL. He was also a devout husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. Jim is survived by his beloved wife, Rae Demme; three Daughters, Debbie Yeiser, Donna Mulherin and Mary Frazier; 7 grandchildren Krista Hardter (Stan), Michael Robertson (Jessica), Marissa Thompson (Nate); Michele Mulherin, Staci Robertson, John Mulherin, Tyler Deinhart; 10 great grandchildren; Amiyah, Miabella, Milo, Azaria, Nicholas, Mason, Lilah, Anthony, Maddox, and Addison; sister Mary Watson (Michael) and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by grandparents, his father Frank, mother Katherine, and sisters, Jane Demme and Sally Christopher. Services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday September 2, at Toale Brothers Funeral Home, 40 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota, FL 34236. Reception for family and friends immediately following. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Jim may be made to Make a Wish Foundation (www.wish.org), Kids In Need Foundation (www.kinf.org) or the children's charity of your choice. Arrangements under the direction of Toale Brothers Funeral Home, Sarasota FL.

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James "Jim" A. Demme

July 16, 1940 - August 20, 2017