Stuart G. Moldaw, an Atherton resident and the founder of a number of clothing retailer stores, most notably the Ross Dress for Less chain, died May 24 following a brief illness. He was 81.
Mr. Moldaw founded Ross in 1982, serving as chairman of the board until 1993, and then staying actively involved as chairman emeritus until his death, according to a press release issued by the company. He was a lifelong entrepreneur who started his first company in 1958. Among his many ventures, he was a founding investor in the Gymboree Corp., and cofounder of Menlo Park-based U.S. Venture Partners.
He was active in philanthropy, and served on the boards of the Moldaw-Zaffaroni Boys & Girls Club of East Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, the San Francisco Urban League, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.
Mr. Moldaw was politically active as well. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a public delegate to the U.S. Mission at the United Nations in 1993 and as chairman of the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars in 1996. Then-Gov. Gray Davis appointed Mr. Moldaw to chair California’s World Trade Commission in 2000, and then in 2002, to serve as a commissioner on the state’s Little Hoover Commission.
Mr. Moldaw is survived by his wife Phyllis of Atherton; daughters Carol and Susan; and four grandchildren.
A private memorial service is planned. The family prefers that memorial gifts be made to the Moldaw-Zaffaroni Boys & Girls Club of East Palo Alto, Eastside College Preparatory School, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco.
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