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J.R. Simplot, Idaho’s “Potato King” Dies at 99

A unique and powerful character of Idaho passes away.

By Jill Kuraitis, 5-25-08

The King of Potatoes in his heyday

99-year-old agribusiness giant J.R. Simplot died peacefully today in Boise. His wife, Esther, was with him.

If you didn’t know about J.R. Simplot within a week of arriving in Idaho, you weren’t paying attention. Arguably the best-known figure in the state, he used variations on the phrase “I’m all about potatoes,” in almost every interview he did.

Idaho schoolchildren called him “the Potato Magnet” and ate his potatoes in the form of McDonald’s french fries with the knowledge they were his.

Memorial and story here on KIVI-TV, Channel 6 in Nampa, Idaho.

Idaho Statesman stories and photos here.

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By Jill Kuraitis, 5-25-08 | comments (5) | email story | print story

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Comments

Add your comment below

By Barb, 5-26-08

Simplot -- good riddance! He was one of the rich, entitled "welfare ranchers" using public lands to graze his livestock at taxpayer expense and depended on "wildlife services" to 'service' him (i.e., kill native predators)

By Clancy, 5-27-08

Barb, Whether you disagree with what Simplot did or stood for is not the point of this article. I urge you to read his biography to find out more on his life.

By TF, 5-27-08

J.R. is an Icon to the state of ID, being bitter is not a way to go through life. What will they say about you.

By thedirtydemocrat, 5-27-08

J.R. Simplot had a strangle hold on most potato crops most of the mid-fifties through 1960. He was an uneducated crook that got away with his shyster ways because he paid off nearly all that he could reach with a buck.

He squeezed out the small potato buyer by selling the fertilizer to the growers on a "deal." I know my dad was on of a few that wanted nothing to do with him.

By Chuck Bohlke, 5-28-08

I did not know Mr Simplot and am sure he probably made a lot of enemies during his lifetime. He was not politically correct and the uneducated factor does not bother me a bit as there are many educated crooks also (Maybe more). Incidently, I have no reason to think he was a crook. You have to think about the tens of thousands of jobs he created in his various enterprises. He probably gave a lot of employes their first exposure to a work ethic that may have lasted throughout their lives. I don't think we will see his kind again and it is a loss to Idaho.

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