John Charles Niedermair Jr.
Monday, September 22, 2008
John Charles Niedermair Jr., 80, a retired Safeway executive, died Aug. 27 at  Anne Arundel Medical Center of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. He was a Glenn Dale resident. Mr. Niedermair was born in Staten Island, N.Y., and grew up in the District. After graduating from  Woodrow Wilson High School, he served with the Army in Germany from 1946 to 1948 and received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Maryland in 1952.
Eager to be involved in the ongoing postwar reconstruction of Europe, he moved to London in 1958 with his Scottish-born wife, Fiona Niedermair, and their two children. He joined Unilever, where he was involved with the McFisheries supermarket development program. In 1962, he became general sales manager of Unilever's Food Centers and was responsible for the opening of 10 supermarkets in Great Britain.
In 1963, he joined Safeway -- his employer as a college student -- and designed the training program for Safeway's British stores. He later become manager of Safeway's Northern Britain zone and was based in Scotland.
In 1978, soon after his promotion to director of retail operations, Safeway  asked him to return to the United States, where, among other duties, he was district manager for Maryland, Virginia and the District. After his retirement  from Safeway in 1988, he took an active role in establishing a family-run  business, Acorn Marketing.
Mr. Niedermair was a member of Glenn Dale Baptist Church, where he served as deacon and chairman of deacons, and later First Baptist Church of Crofton, where he also was a deacon. He enjoyed painting, pen-and-ink sketches, model  shipbuilding and woodworking. He devoted much of his time to helping others.
Mr. Niedermair's first wife died in 1991.
Survivors include his wife of 16 years, Janice Maxine Cogan of Glenn Dale;  four children, Margaret Moodie of Bowie, John C. Niedermair III of Silver Spring, Philip E. Niedermair of Ashton, Md., and Alan W. Cogan of Shenandoah, Va.; three brothers, Billy Niedermair of Bainbridge Island, Wash., Edward Niedermair of Bremerton, Wash., Mike Niedermair of Bowie and Robert Niedermair  of the District; three sisters, Patricia Long of Charleston, S.C., Marion Knowles of Annapolis and Mary Ann Mallinoff of Lanham; and five grandchildren.
-- Joe Holley