Joan inherited the McDonald’s wealth-and gave away mostly

A love story that began in a jazz room

Ray Kroc was already married when he saw Joan Smith playing piano in a restaurant in the 1950s.

They quickly fell in love but their first attempt to get married failed. Years later – after divorces and entanglements – Ray freed to Joan in the middle of a party on a yacht and let his then wife be informed by a lawyer.

They were married in 1969.

The marriage was turbulent, characterized by Ray’s alcohol consumption and temperament. Joan tried to leave him several times but returned. At the same time, she began her own social work, first with the campaign “Operation Cork” about alcohol abuse.

A progressive woman in the shadow of a conservative man

Joan Kroc was liberal while Ray was glowing Republican. She kept a low profile of respect for him, but after his death, her commitment flourished in earnest. She donated to democratic campaigns, to AIDS research, hospice, disarmament initiatives and educational programs.

Among other things, she created the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace at the University of Notre Dame with a $ 69 million donation.

She also supported less visible cases: She paid for teaching for HIV-infected children, funded theaters in crisis and saved a zoological system from closure.