Robert J . Thorne Robert Julius Thorne ( February 1875 – March 20 , 1955 ) was an American businessman who was president of Montgomery Ward from 1917 to 1920 . Life . Robert Thorne was born in February 1875 in Chicago , Illinois , to George R . Thorne . The senior Thorne was a former major in the Civil War who co - founded Montgomery Ward with his brother - in - law , A . Montgomery Ward . He received a bachelor ' s degree from Cornell University in 1897 . He was active in the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity . Robert Thorne joined Montgomery Ward ' s Kansas City , Missouri , branch immediately upon his graduation from Cornell . He rose to become branch manager , and then was transferred to Chicago where he was manager of the store ' s flagship store and a vice president of the company . In 1917 , his older brother and Montgomery Ward president , William C . Thorne , died unexpectedly . Robert J . Thorne assumed the presidency of the company . Thorne married the former Katherine B . Sterrett . The couple had five daughters : Roberta , Katherine , Laura , Narcissa and Ellen Catherine . Employers ' Association of Chicago . Thorne co - founded the Employers ' Association of Chicago in 1902 , and played a significant role in the 1905 Chicago Teamsters ' strike . He was accused in mid - 1905 of bribing transport company owners to lock out their union workers in order to force them to strike . U . S . Army service . During World War I , Thorne served as a civilian in the United States Army . He joined the Army on January 1 , 1918 , as an unpaid volunteer . He was named an assistant to George W . Goethals , Acting Quartermaster General of the Army . Thorne helped to radically reorganize the failing Army logistical and supply system . On March 8 , 1918 , Goethals named Thorne " Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General , " and issued an order to his troops that all orders from Thorne " will have the force and effect as if performed by the Acting Quartermaster General himself . " Thorne left government service after the war ended . During his tenure with the U . S . Army , Thorne trained Brigadier General Robert E . Wood in logistics . Wood later became vice - president and then chairman of Sears , Roebuck and Company , one of Montgomery Ward ' s fiercest competitors . For his work in successfully restructuring the Army ' s supply system and measurably improving America ' s warfighting capacity during World War I , Thorne was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1919 . In 1918 , Thorne built a 28 - room mansion on a estate on Sheridan Roade in Lake Forest , Illinois . The estate , called White Oaks , became a major showcase home in the area . During the 1930s , Thorne became president of the board of trustees of Lake Forest Academy . Retirement and death . Thorne retired from the presidency of Montgomery Ward in 1920 due to failing health . He and his wife traveled extensively for several years . In 1942 , White Oaks was torn down and the Thornes moved to Coronado , California . In 1950 , they moved to La Jolla , California . Thorne died there on March 20 , 1955 , after a lengthy illness . Katherine Thorne died in 1963 . Honors . The Robert Julius Thorne Chair in Political Economy in the Department of Economics at Cornell University is endowed in Thorne ' s name . A fund at the Delta Chi Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Cornell was endowed by Thorne , and also carries his name .