George W. Church, Sr.

George William Church, Sr. (March 30, 1887 – November 18, 1956) was an American businessman who founded Church's Chicken.

Church was born in Oak Grove, Missouri in 1887 to Isaac Wesley Church (1863-1952) and Mary Josephine Webb (1866-1932).

On April 17, 1952, Church started Church's Fried Chicken-To-Go, across the road from The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

Prior to his retirement, Church was an incubator salesman.

In 1913, Church married Jessie May Pollard (1894-1988) and had 5 children.

After Church's sudden death in 1956, the restaurant was willed to his son, George W. "Bill" Church, Jr. (December 23, 1932 – February 7, 2014). Bill Church continued operations of the business in 1962, and further built the franchise with his partner David Bamberger before selling it.