Robert E . Wood Robert Elkington Wood ( June 13 , 1879 – November 6 , 1969 ) was an American military officer and business executive . After retiring from the U . S . Army as a Brigadier General , Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive , most notably with Sears , Roebuck and Company . A Republican , Wood was a leader in the Old Right American Conservatism movement from the 1920s through the 1960s as well as a key financial backer of the America First Committee prior to the United State ' s entry into World War II . Early life . Wood was born to parents Robert Whitney and Lillie ( Collins ) Wood in Kansas City , Missouri . Following graduation from Kansas City Central High School in 1895 he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point , graduating in 1900 as a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry . Military career . As an officer in the United States Army , he was stationed in the Philippines participating in field service during the Philippine insurrection . From 1902 to 1903 he was assigned to Fort Assiniboin , Montana and then for three years as an instructor at West Point . In 1905 he became the Assistant Chief Quartermaster and later the Chief Quartermaster and Director of the Panama Railroad Company . He served in the Panama Canal Zone for ten years , during the construction of the canal . Wood retired in July 1915 , by special act of Congress as a Major . Following this retirement he worked as assistant to the vice president of the E . I . du Pont de Nemours Company and headed operations in the United States , Venezuela , and Trinidad for the General Asphalt Company . He briefly served as Purchasing Agent of the Emergency Fleet Corporation in early 1917 . In 1917 , on the eve of America ' s entry into the First World War Wood returned to the Army as an Infantry Lieutenant Colonel . He served in Europe with the 42nd ( Rainbow ) Division and was promoted to Colonel . Later in the war Wood would serve as transportation director for the entire American Expeditionary Forces in France . Toward the end of the war , he was promoted to brigadier general and made acting Quartermaster General of the Army . In 1916 , prior America ' s entry into the war , Woods ' brother Captain Stanley Wood , was killed in action while serving as a volunteer in the British Army . Post military career . After the leaving the army again in 1919 , Wood became an executive at Montgomery Ward , eventually becoming a vice - president of the company . In 1924 , he left Montgomery Ward to take a position of vice - president of Sears Roebuck . He became one of the most important leaders in that company ' s history , serving as vice - president from 1928 until 1939 and as chairman from 1939 until 1954 . Under his leadership , Sears shifted the focus of its operations from mail - order sales to retail sales at large urban department stores . Wood also created Allstate Insurance as a subsidiary of Sears . In 1950 , he was admitted as an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati . Wood , once again , served as an honorary chairman for Sears from 1968 until shortly before his death in 1969 , leaving a good portion of his stocks to family members . Political life . Wood was also politically active and was noted as a conservative Republican . In 1940 , he helped found the America First Committee to oppose U . S . involvement in the Second World War ; he served as the committee ' s first president on an interim basis . In 1954 , Wood funded the creation of the Manion Forum , a conservative radio program hosted by Clarence Manion . Personal life . Robert Wood married Mary Butler Hardwick of Augusta , Georgia on April 30 , 1908 . They were the parents of five children : four daughters and a son . Daughter Frances Elkington ( Wood ) Fentress , ( March 27 , 1910 - March 19 , 1996 ) , was married to Calvin H . Fentress , who became president and chairman of Allstate Insurance Company . Daughter Sarah Stires ( Wood ) ( Addington ) Armour , ( January 3 , 1912 - August 26 , 2010 ) , was twice - married , first to James R . Addington , and later to Andrew Watson Armour III of the Armour meatpacking family . She was involved in music philanthropy in the Chicago area , including serving as a board member for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra , the Lyric Opera of Chicago , and the Ravinia Festival . The other children were Anne Hardwick Wood , Mart Stovall Wood , and son Robert Whitney Wood II . Decorations and honors . Bronze busts honoring Wood and seven other industry magnates stand between the Chicago River and the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago , Illinois . General Wood also has a Boys and Girls Club in Chicago named in his honor . Gen . Wood was inducted into the Junior Achievement U . S . Business Hall of Fame in 1979 .