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John Wholley Built his Life on Foundation of Integrity

David Perry -- Furniture Today, September 16, 2011

David Perry Executive EditorJohn T. Wholley Jr. was a soft-spoken, thoughtful man, but his actions marked him as a bold leader in the mattress industry. His recent death, at the too-young age of 58, is a major loss for everyone who wants the mattress business to operate at the highest levels of professionalism.
     John began working for his family's mattress company, Better Bedding, back in 1976 when his father founded the company. The elder Wholley brought an honest, straightforward approach to the business, and that was the way that his sons, John and Tom, ran the East Hartford, Conn.- based business after their father's death.
     "The standards for honesty and integrity haven't changed," John Wholley told me in 2006 when I sat down with him for an in-depth interview. "Our goal of pleasing the customer hasn't changed."
     When Furniture/Today was looking for retailers to honor for its inaugural Retail Giants of Bedding awards in 2006, Better Bedding was an obvious choice. Bedding executives across the industry praised the company for its honest approach to the mattress business and singled out the Wholley brothers for their integrity and professionalism. And so we honored Better Bedding as one of six Retail Giants of Bedding that year.
     Unfortunately, Better Bedding struggled during the recession. Worse, John became seriously ill. He battled his illness with the grace that he brought to his life.
     The Wholley brothers ultimately lost the company that they built into a retail powerhouse. Tom Wholley launched a new retail company, Connecticut Mattress, earlier this year. John was too ill to participate in that business.
     And then, on Aug. 27, John lost his brave fight against brain cancer. A man of dignity and integrity, a man of God, he slipped from the earthly scene for a new and eternal life.
     John Wholley made this a better industry in the more than 30 years he devoted to it. Let's honor him by recommitting ourselves to excellence and integrity in all that we do to give our customers a better life through a better night of sleep.

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