Alice Stayer, the co-founder of a Wisconsin-based company with products now sold worldwide died over the weekend of natural causes at her Florida home.
Stayer, 96, and her husband Ralph saved up enough to join two friends in starting Johnsonville Sausage in 1945.
By 1970, Johnsonville was a household name. In 1978, the company began distributing outside of Wisconsin and also started the tag-line, "Charlie Murphy's cooking Johnsonville Brats!"
The company is headquarted in Sheboygan Falls, and employs more than 1,400 people. Johnsonville products are available in 30 countries.
Stayer’s husband died in 2007 at age 92.
