"Lovie Yancey" {January 2,1912-January 26,2008)

Was the founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain.Lovie originally owned a small restaurant in Tucson.In 1947 she founded Fatburger under its original name Mr.Fatburger.In 1952,Lovie shed both her business partners and the "Mr." from the name of the hamburger stand,and fatburger was officially born.From the beginning,Lovie was a fixture the original Fatburger,where customers,who included entertainers such as Redd Foxx and Ray Charles,could custom-order their burgers.She always claimed "I don't worry about Mcdonalds,Burger King or Wendy's.They may be more popular,but a good hamburger sells itself,and don't think anybody makes as good a hamburger as we do." She sold her Fatburger company to an investment group in 1990 Lovie retained control of the original property on Western Avenue.Lovie established a $1.7-million endowment at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte in 1986 for research into sickle cell anemia.This was in fulfillment of a promise to her 22-year-old grandson,Duran Farrell,who died of this disease three years earlier.Lovie died of pheumonia In addition to her daughter,Lovie was survived by three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.