“Peter A. Garetto, who founded Beggars Pizza Franchise Corp. with his brother Larry and was the pizza chain’s co-owner, died Sunday of multiple myeloma. Together, they expanded the pizza business started by their father Angelo in 1976 in Blue Island to 20 restaurants,” according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Friends and co-workers descried Mr. Garetto as the kind of guy who would reach into his own pocket to pay a pizza delivery driver who got stiffed on a tip. He believed in giving teenagers opportunities by hiring them at his pizza restaurants. He also started a youth travel baseball team.

Mr. Garetto “jumped in with both feet,” said his brother-in-law, Ray Cantelo, who works for Beggars Pizza.

“He will definitely be missed by a lot of people,” Cantelo said. “He has touched so many people over the years.”

A 1974 graduate of Marist High School in Mount Greenwood on the South Side, Mr. Garetto went to work at Beggars in 1980 after the death of his father and later brought three of his four children into the business to keep the family tradition alive, Cantelo said.”