Grain millerBob Moore

Born in Oregon and raised in California, Moore drifted around quite a bit, job-wise. He served in the U.S. Army. Owned two gasoline stations. Worked at Sears and J.C. Penney. In a visit to a library in his 50s, Moore picked up the book John Goffe’s Mill (1948), which told the story of a man who inherited an old gristmill, and decided to put it back into production and run it despite having no experience in the industry. Moore and his wife decided to do that too, starting Moores’ Flour Mill in Redding, Calif., in 1974. A local group came to him to ask if he could help them buy gluten-free products, specifically xanthan gum, used in gluten-free baking to replicate the elasticity gluten adds to baked goods. A few years later, the mill burned down.

Deciding they needed more space anyway, in part to ensure they had separate areas for gluten and non-gluten products, the Moores headed back to Oregon, and started a new mill in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie. They called it Bob’s Red Mill, and put a sketch of his face on the label. Demand for the Red Mill’s products exploded, particularly thanks to the company’s proven dedication to ensuring the gluten-free products really were free of gluten. What if testing shows some gluten got into a product? They don’t throw it away. “We move it to the conventional line,” he said in an interview. “It’s just not going to into a bag labeled gluten-free.”

By 2010, revenues hit $100 million — but Moore wanted to retire. Other companies had tried to buy Bob’s, but he turned them down: “It’s not for sale,” he told a reporter. Instead, he gave his shares in the company to his employees, the percentage based on how long each had worked there. He finally retired in 2018, but stayed on as a Board member until his death. Robert Gene Moore died February 10, 5 days before he would have turned 95.