We all were sad to learn of the recent passing of Ronald D. Croatti, the chairman, president and CEO of UniFirst Corp., Wilmington, MA. Ron’s strong commitment to the industry spanned more than 50 years in various roles at UniFirst.

He rose to CEO in 1991, president in 1995 and chairman of the board in 2002. Ron oversaw a track record of impressive growth at UniFirst, with current revenue exceeding $1 billion annually—that’s up 400% from when he assumed the role of CEO. With that said, Ron was able to maintain and foster the culture of a family-owned ...