Former Crate and Barrel CEO Barbara Turf Dies at 71

Barbara Turf, the recently retired CEO of Northbrook-based Crate and Barrel died Sunday of pancreatic cancer, according to the Chicago Tribune. She was 71.

Turf, who lived in Winnetka, started as a part-time saleswoman for the company in 1967, moving to the corporate headquarters in 1974 and up through the ranks to CEO in 2008, the article says. She retired in 2012 and joined the company’s board of directors.

Under her leadership, the company established its CB2 line and acquired Land of Nod, its children’s brand, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. Crate and Barrel also expanded oversees, including to the Middle East and Asia, with Turf at the helm.

She grew up in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and stared out as a school teacher when she took a summer job at Crate and Barrel, the Crain’s article says. She is survived by her husband, three children and two grandchildren.

You can read the full Tribune obituary here.

You can read the Crain’s article here.