From his home in Dayton, Larry McGrogan took the long way to attend high school in Ottawa.

“He would walk on the train tracks from Dayton to as close as he could get to Marquette High School,” said his wife, Bonnie.

McGrogan traveled a long way to get to Marquette, but he took no shortcuts when it came to his community, his customers or his parish.

Owner of Handy Foods and Save-A-Lot grocery stores in Ottawa, the 1956 Marquette graduate died Saturday, at age 80, in his Ottawa home. He leaves plenty of good memories to those who knew him.

“Big heart. BIG heart,” said Vicki Jameson, produce manager at Handy Foods and a 42-year employee of the Main Street business. “He was compassionate and would never turn anyone away.”

A U.S. Army veteran, McGrogan got into the grocery business after working at Libbey-Owens-Ford and as a roofer. Bonnie’s father, Art Burton, gave his son-in-law a shot at the retail business.

Burton owned a Dean Foods milk distribution business in Peru and wanted to expand into Ottawa. In 1963, McGrogan opened Dairy Village at the corner of Madison and Clay streets. A year later, Handy Foods began on Ottawa’s South Side, where Save-A-Lot is located. Handy Foods still carries Dean milk.

“He didn’t like roofing,” Bonnie McGrogan said. “And he wanted to be his own entrepreneur.”

“He was a self-taught entrepreneur,” Celeste McGrogan, a Chicago resident, said of her grandfather.

Larry and Bonnie learned on the job and put in a lot of hours. In time, their son, Mike, and daughters Karen Corsolini and Beth Melvin became full-time employees. All McGrogan grandchildren, provided they were old enough, have worked at Handy Foods.

Mike McGrogan said the siblings never wanted to work anywhere else. In 2005, Larry handed the businesses to his children. Mike is general manager, while Beth and Karen still work full-time at Handy Foods, which opened as Handy Foods West in 1982.

Despite retiring, McGrogan was at Handy Foods nearly every day.

“He retired from ownership, but he didn’t stop working,” Bonnie said.

McGrogan never stopped being Larry. He helped out at the store, made deliveries, greeted customers (always by their first names) and handed smiley-face sugar cookies to generations of children.

“That goes way back to his parents. His dad (Herb McGrogan) said if you have a cookie, share half of it,” Bonnie said.

When not running a business, McGrogan was active in his community. He served as board president of the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry, on the boards of the Ottawa YMCA and Youth Service Bureau, and was co-chairman of Friendship Village’s capital fundraising drive.

“Larry McGrogan cared about Ottawa and its people. He and his family built up a great business over the decades, making many friends and loyal customers,” Ottawa Mayor Robert Eschbach said in an email.

“But his real greatness was in his love for the people of the Ottawa area as shown in the the generous support he gave to so many good causes. Our sympathy goes out to the McGrogan family. We all will surely miss him.”

A member of St. Columba Church, McGrogan served on that church’s grade school board, and was a St. Columba parish trustee who helped in the church’s restoration project. An avid Marquette High and Marquette Academy supporter, he even supplied the butterfly pork chops sold at every Marquette home football game.

“He was one of the first people I met,” said the Rev. Father David Kipfer, pastor of Ottawa’s Catholic parishes. “He was a vital part of the community and supported all the parishes.”

“The community always has supported us, and we are indebted to that,” Mike McGrogan said.

Handy Foods became an Independent Grocery Alliance store in 1990. In 2006, McGrogan was named IGA’s International Retailer of the Year.

Many who worked for McGrogan stayed a long time. One was Dennis Batistini, who was Handy Foods store manager and produce manager, logging more than 40 years of service.

“Larry was most giving and kindest man I’ve known,” Batistini said.

Vicki Jamison concurs. A single mother, she was jobless when someone told McGrogan about her situation.

“He knew my face when I would come in to shop. Someone told him I needed a job and he came right up to me,” said Jamison, whose daughter, Jennifer Ward, also is employed in the Handy Foods produce department. Two granddaughters have worked there.

McGrogan worked at Handy Foods as soon as last Wednesday, but recently fell ill.

“He had (lung) cancer, but didn’t tell a lot of people,” Mike McGrogan said. “He never smoked a day in his life.”

Handy Foods will be closed 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, the date of McGrogan’s funeral.

“Larry was so outgoing. He’s the kind of person you wanted to be like,” Batistini said.

“We lost a good one,” Kipfer said.