Cousins, it is with a terribly heavy heart that we inform you all of the passing of beloved Famous Amos cookie founder Wally Amos!
PEOPLE reports that Wally passed away on Tuesday, August 13th in his Honolulu home in Hawaii due to complications from dementia.
The tragic news was confirmed by his sons Gregory and Shawn.“He was a true original Black American hero.”
“With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride,” the statement read.
According to CNN Wally opened up a bakery shop in the 1970s on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. He began by selling bite-sized chocolate chip cookies which were a rare commodity. Sources state that the cookies were made from a family recipe that were passed down.
Wally’s cookies grew in popularity as celebrities and Hollywood entertainers became instant fans.
“I started making cookies just to make a living and to be happy doing what I was doing,” said Wally in a 1991 interview with Detroit Black Journal. “And I just, I was so committed and so involved and so joyous about it.”
Little did he know the legacy he was creating with his signature cookies.
“I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go in the cookie business, make a lot of money, you know, sell out of cookies.’ I said, ‘Well, do something I like the way I want to do it,’ you know, I’m going to have fun doing it,”
Wally is survived by his kids and his wife of over 40 years Christine Harris Amos.
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