Wally Amos, Inventor Of Famous Amos Cookies, Dead At 88: Cause Of Death Revealed
Wally Amos, the visionary who founded the Famous Amos cookie brand, has died.
He was 88.
According to a statement from his children, complications from dementia was the cause of his death, per 'CNN.'
"With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride," stated his children Sarah, Michael, Gregory, and Shawn Amos.
"Our dad taught us the value of hard work, believing in ourselves, and chasing our dreams," the statement continued.
Amos spent his life perfecting the art of cookie making. In a 2008 interview with 'NPR,' he shared that the key ingredient in his renowned cookies was love.
"I think it's important to love what you do because that love is transferred to what you do, and it turns it into something absolutely fantastic," he expressed at the time.
Today, the Famous Amos name is synonymous with the yellow-packaged cookies found in grocery stores, but Amos' journey began in 1975 with a cookie shop in Los Angeles.
His aunt's homemade recipe led to the shop's overwhelming success, though the brand faced challenges in the late 1980s. The financial struggles lead Amos to eventually sell the company to a private equity group.
The Florida native told the 'Detroit Black Journal' in 1991 how he "started making cookies just to make a living and to be happy doing what I was doing."
"And I just, I was so committed and so involved and so joyous about it," he added. "I didn't say, 'Hey, I'm going to go in the cookie business, make a lot of money, you know, sell out of cookies.' I said, 'Well, do something I like the way I want to do it,' you know, I'm going to have fun doing it."
He later relocated to Hawaii, where he continued his passion for baking.
The family shared that Amos died peacefully at home with his wife Carol by his side. They suggested that instead of flowers, donations could be made to the Alzheimer's Association in his honor.
"We also know he would love it if you had a chocolate chip cookie today."
