Richard V. Wolohan, who founded and led Wolohan Lumber Co., one of America's 10 biggest LBM operations before becoming part of what is now ProBuild, died last Wednesday, The Saginaw (Mich.) Newsreported. He was 94. Services were held Saturday.
It was Richard Wolohan's father, Charles Wolohan, who first got involved in building materials when he started a grain, feed, and lumber company in the early 1900s. According to the Saginaw News report, that business was merged with Wickes Co. in 1950, but Richard Wolohan broke away from Wickes in 1964 to form what became Wolohan Lumber.
Richard Wolohan ran the Saginaw-based company until his retirement in 1980. In the succeeding years, it grew to 65 stores in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kentucky. It was the No. 7 company on the original ProSales 100 for 1991, and remained on the top 10 list for several succeeding years.
Lanoga bought Wolohan in February 2006 and folded it into United Building Centers, which with Lanoga later became ProBuild. According to ProSales' coverage of the deal, Wolohan by that point had 18 locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, and $140 million in 2005 gross sales.
The older Wolohan had seven children with his wife, Angela Wolohan, who died in October 2006, the Saginaw News said. The couple were married for 64 years.
