Ed Lauer, founder of Lauer’s Supermarket, died January 2 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Lauer and his wife Helen, who passed away two years ago, opened the first Lauer’s Supermarket in January 1974 in Pasadena, MD. Later, the company added a second store in Fort Smallwood, MD. Through the years, the Lauer’s five daughters and two of their sons-in-law have worked in the family business.
Before founding the family business, Lauer began his career with Food Fair in the 1950s. He completed the company’s management training program and managed stores for about 15 years before taking a position with P.A. & S Small where he worked first on the retail side of the business and later in wholesale for about five years.
Lauer was born in Baltimore in1926 to the late Joseph and Wilhelmina Lauer. He was a graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School and Johns Hopkins University. He was a resident of Anne Arundel County since 1976. He was a member of the Our Lady of the Chesapeake Church where he served as the director of the building committee. He was a founding member and first president of the Pasadena Business Association, a board member and past chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Food Dealers Association, and served as a board member of Farmer’s National Bank.
He is survived by daughters: Elizabeth A. Gilley and her husband Joseph of Herndon, VA; Babette M. Poyer and her husband Charlie of Millersville; Bernadette L. Snoops and her husband Craig of Millersville; Loretta B. Lauer and her husband Martin of Florida; and son in law of Joseph Millsap of Pasadena, he was preceded in death by a daughter Margaret B. Millsap. He is also survived by: a sister Joan Peters of Perry Hall; grandchildren Monica and Jeffrey Gilley of Herndon, VA; Gregory, Ryan and Brad Poyer of Millersville; Whitney and Garrett Snoops of Millersville; and Paige, Eddie and Alex Millsap of Pasadena. He was also preceded in death by two brothers Gerard and Joseph Lauer, and two sisters Marie Scott and Elizabeth Brown.
