The Passing of Henry Motes
- Published on Monday, January 23, 2012
Longtime member of the industry and veteran is mourned by the industry.
Henry G. Motes, Jr., a longtime member of the foodservice industry, passed away January 18, 2012. He was 93 years old.
Motes is survived by his wife, Marguerite, daughters Candy Clark and Mindy Harwood (Jim), son Kent Motes, nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Motes' son Kent, is the CEO of AutoQuotes, an electronic catalog for foodservice equipment and supplies that dealers, consultants, reps and manufacturers use to research products, pricing and more.
After earning the Bronze Star Medal during his service in the Army, in 1952 Motes joined E. H. Thompson Company, a foodservice equipment dealership. In 1968 one of Motes' customers, Bill Darden of the Green Frog Restaurant in Waycross, Ga., asked Henry to help him with a new restaurant in Florida – Red Lobster.
Motes was also very active in his community, serving a variety of charitable and civic organizations.
A memorial service took place on January 20. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Motes' memory to the Riverside Baptist Church, 2650 Park St., Jacksonville, Fla., 32204 or to the Rotary Club Foundation, 9127 Ft. Caroline Rd., Jacksonville, Fla., 32225.
