Entrepreneur. After attending college in Oswego, New York, he moved to Davenport, Iowa in 1911, then went into the dairy business in nearby Green River, Illinois. In 1938, he and his son Bradley developed a formula for soft-serve ice cream. They tested their new product at the ice cream retail shop of one of their customers, Sheb Noble on August 4, 1938. They sold over 1,600 servings for ten cents each in just two hours. The McCulloughs spent the next two years modifying a soft serve freezer to work for their concept. In 1940, the McCulloughs and Mr. Noble opened their first soft serve ice cream stand in Joliet, Illinois. John “Grandpa” McCullough named the shop Dairy Queen, since he viewed the cow as the queen of the dairy industry, and his soft serve ice cream as the queen of dairy products. Dairy Queen was a pioneer of the franchising concept, growing from 100 stores in 1947 to 2,600 in 1955. Today, there are almost 6,000 Dairy Queen restaurants in the United States, Canada, and twenty foreign countries. Cause of death: Cerebral thrombosis (bio by: Dustin Oliver)  Family links:  Parents:  Andrew McCullough (1825 – 1909)  Mary Kittle McCullough (1828 – 1913)  Spouse:  Maud Mary Findlay McCullough (1872 – 1940)  Children:  Hugh Alexander McCullough (1898 – 1975)*  Siblings:  Samantha O. McCullough Gilbert (1850 – 1930)*  Alice Viola McCullough Liming (1852 – 1953)*  Loretta Gertrude McCullough Miller (1854 – 1941)*  Lucetta E McCullough Rambo (1856 – 1955)*  Olietta C McCullough Walker (1859 – 1941)*  Ira M. McCullough (1865 – 1904)*  William E McCullough (1867 – 1937)*  John Fremont McCullough (1871 – 1963) *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Cerebral thrombosis