March 12, 1989 (p.1B)

By John F. Rawilnson The Arizona Dally Star
Richard Leon Capin, a prominent Nogales businessman and community leader, died yesterday after a brief illness at University Medical Center. He was 58.

Capin was president of Capin Mercantile Corp., the 13th-largest employer in Southern Arizona.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at Adair's Carroon Mortuary in Nogales, Ariz., at 1510 Grand Ave. A funeral service will be held there at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

Capin was born in 1930 in Nogales to the late Benjamin and Sylvia Capin. Hyman Capin, his grand father, had opened the family's first store there in 1920 and opened a second store two years later.

Richard Capin graduated from Nogales High School in 1948 and attended the University of Southern California before joining the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He returned to Nogales to concentrate on the family business.

"The Capins are to this city (Nogales) what the Rockefellers are to New York," a 1982 Star article about the family and its business described the Capins.

At the time, the Capin conglomerate of 18 businesses employed about 1,000 people and ranked 28th on the Star 200 list of major employers in Southern Arizona.

Now the family has 28 Factory 2-U stores throughout Arizona and one in Las Cruces, N.M. This year Capin Mercantile Corp./Factory 2-U is ranked 13th in the Star 200 and is listed as employing 1,805 full-time employees.

Richard Capin was particularly "Instrumental in promoting the development of a new series of enterprises (Factory 2-U). His concept involved the distribution of a large variety of affordable merchandise to both rural and urban areas of Arizona and New Mexico," said a brief biography that family members composed yesterday.

"He was a very active member of the (Nogales) Chamber of Commerce. I worked with him for eight years," said Charles V. Fowler, former president of the Nogales Chamber of Commerce and owner of Kino Tours. "He was a real guiding light to me."

Capin served as president of the Nogales Chamber of Commerce; as a board member of the Nogales Lions Club, was active in the Arizona Town Hall, and served as a member of the National Advisory Board of the University of Arizona's College of Business and Public Administration.

He is survived by his widow, Esther Capin, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, of Nogales; a sister, Frances Robinson, of Omaha, Neb.; daughters Dr. Donna Capin Swetschinski, Bonnie Capin Aries of Tucson, and Elizabeth Capin Keith of Nogales; and sons Norman and James Capin of Nogales.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Richard L Capin Memorial Fund for Medical and Educational Advancement, P.O. Box 1849, Nogales, Ariz. 85628.

By John F. Rawilnson The Arizona Dally Star

Richard Leon Capin, a prominent Nogales businessman and community leader, died yesterday after a brief illness at University Medical Center. He was 58.

Capin was president of Capin Mercantile Corp., the 13th-largest employer in Southern Arizona.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at Adair's Carroon Mortuary in Nogales, Ariz., at 1510 Grand Ave. A funeral service will be held there at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

Capin was born in 1930 in Nogales to the late Benjamin and Sylvia Capin. Hyman Capin, his grand father, had opened the family's first store there in 1920 and opened a second store two years later.

Richard Capin graduated from Nogales High School in 1948 and attended the University of Southern California before joining the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He returned to Nogales to concentrate on the family business.

"The Capins are to this city (Nogales) what the Rockefellers are to New York," a 1982 Star article about the family and its business described the Capins.
At the time, the Capin conglomerate of 18 businesses employed about 1,000 people and ranked 28th on the Star 200 list of major employers in Southern Arizona.

Now the family has 28 Factory 2-U stores throughout Arizona and one in Las Cruces, N.M. This year Capin Mercantile Corp./Factory 2-U is ranked 13th in the Star 200 and is listed as employing 1,805 full-time employees.

Richard Capin was particularly "Instrumental in promoting the development of a new series of enterprises (Factory 2-U). His concept involved the distribution of a large variety of affordable merchandise to both rural and urban areas of Arizona and New Mexico," said a brief biography that family members composed yesterday.

"He was a very active member of the (Nogales) Chamber of Commerce. I worked with him for eight years," said Charles V. Fowler, former president of the Nogales Chamber of Commerce and owner of Kino Tours. "He was a real guiding light to me."

Capin served as president of the Nogales Chamber of Commerce; as a board member of the Nogales Lions Club, was active in the Arizona Town Hall, and served as a member of the National Advisory Board of the University of Arizona's College of Business and Public Admlaistration.

He is survived by his widow, Esther Capin, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, of Nogales; a sister, Frances Robinson, of Omaha, Neb.; daughters Dr. Donna Capin Swetschinski, Bonnie Capin Aries of Tucson, and Elizabeth Capin Keith of Nogales; and sons Norman and James Capin of Nogales.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Richard L Capin Memorial Fund for Medical and Educational Advancement, P.O. Box 1849, Nogales, Ariz. 85628.