Los Angeles County
Biographies
LE-ROY
H. CEDERQUIST
Le-Roy
H. Cederquist, the son of an energetic and industrious Swedish father, has made
a splendid record as a successful businessman.
In 1925 he joined his brother Ben A., who was then employed by their
father, and two years later brother Emanuel L. joined the brothers and father
who founded the Cederquist Showcase and Cabinet Company. Today, thirty-six years later, Le-Roy H.
Cederquist is the sole owner of the family business. Cederquist Showcase and Cabinet Company is
the manufacturer of restaurant fixtures and seating equipment, also drugstore
fixtures, selling their products over the entire western region of the United
States. The factory is located at 1721
Zonal Avenue in Los Angeles.
In
Los Angeles, California, on May 23, 1906, Mr. Cederquist was born to Nils
Herman and Anna Regina Cederquist. The
senior Mr. Cederquist was born in Sweden on February 12, 1873, and was left an
orphan at the age of twelve. His wife,
also a native of Sweden, was born on November 21, 1874. Nils Cederquist arrived in the United States
on April 1, 1890. Mrs. Cederquist came
to the United States in 1892, and one year later they became engaged, uniting
in marriage in Chicago in 1895. They
were residents of Chicago for thirteen years, moving to Los Angeles,
California, on January 5, 1905. In 1907
after completing the building of a two-story home at 1721 Cedar Street,
Alhambra, the family made residence in their new home. (The home still stands.)
In
1916 Mr. Cederquist ventured into the fixtures business at Fourth and Colton
streets in Los Angeles. During World War
I the company manufactured wooden airplane propellers. Nils Cederquist invented the first reversible
and variable pitch propeller used by aircraft.
In 1917 Douglas Aircraft Company built their first airplane in the
Cederquist factory, which was leased from the A. J. Koll Planing Mill. The plane was named the “Cloudster,”
and Le-Roy Cederquist viewed installation of the
first Liberty motor to be installed in a Douglas plane.
Le-Roy
Cederquist attended Marengo Grammar School in Alhambra, and was graduated from
Alhambra High School in 1925. At the age
of twelve years he sold newspapers at the corner of Raymond and Main streets in
Alhambra, and also worked as a clerk in the H. G. Chaffee grocery store on West
Main Street. Following his graduation
from high school, Mr. Cederquist became an employee of his father’s firm, the
Cederquist Showcase and Cabinet Company.
He helped build the factory at its present location on Zonal Avenue in
Los Angeles, which was completed in 1925.
In 1933 he became a member on the sales force of the firm, which during
World War II manufactured furniture for naval ships and army bases. In 1945 the three Cederquist sons purchased
the business from their father whose health was failing. He passed away on August 7 of that same
year. Five years later Le-Roy Cederquist
purchased the interests of one brother, and in another five years, in 1955, he
purchased the shares owned by his other brother, thus becoming the sole owner
of the Cederquist Showcase and Cabinet Company.
Miss
Selma J. Terry became the bride of Le-Roy H. Cederquist on June 26, 1927, in a
ceremony which took place in the Los Angeles Elks Temple. Mrs. Cederquist is a member of the San
Gabriel Valley Noblettes, and of the Los Angeles Opti-Mrs. Club. The
Cederquist family are members of the First Methodist
Church of Alhambra. Mr. and Mrs. Cederquist
are the parents of two children: Mrs.
Richard (Nanette) Elk is a graduate of Alhambra High School and of John Muir
College. Her husband, also of Alhambra,
served in the United States Navy for seven years, and they are the parents of
three children: Cynthia, Michael, and
Jennifer. The Elk’s are residents of
Englewood, Colorado. Terry L. Cederquist
is also a graduate of Alhambra High School and attended Pasadena City
College. He served four years in the
United States Navy and now resides with his wife Susan McLaughlin Cederquist
and their three children -- Deborah, Carol and Steven, in Arcadia,
California. Terry is general manager of
Cederquist Showcase and Cabinet Company, and his father proudly states that he
is his “right-hand-man” in the factory, as well as in the sales work.
Mr.
Cederquist has been a member of the Downtown Los Angeles Optimist Club for many
years, serving as president in 1959-1960, and life member of Optimist
International. He is currently on the
executive committee of the Optimist Home for Boys.
Fraternally
he is affiliated with the Al Malaikah Temple in Los Angeles; the San Gabriel Valley
Shrine Club; Los Angeles Elks Lodge No. 99; the Alhambra Masonic Lodge No. 322;
Alhambra Commandery No. 48 Knights Templar; the San Gabriel Valley Royal Arch
Masons Chapter No. 100; and Alhambra Council No. 25 Royal and Select Masters of
California.
Mr.
Cederquist, who resides at 215 South Cordova Street, has been a resident of
Alhambra for over fifty-five years. He
will gladly testify that he believes Alhambra is the finest city in the world.
For
relaxation Mr. Cederquist likes to play golf, enjoys bowling, and finds pleasure
in fishing. He and his family are also
proud of their home on Balboa Island where they can enjoy many leisurely hours.
Transcribed
by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Historical Volume & Reference
Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple
City, by Robert P. Studer, Pages 470-473,
Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California.
1962.
© 2013 V.
Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES
BIOGRAPHIES