Joseph Andrew Unanue (March 14, 1925 – June 12, 2013) was a New York-born son of Spanish parents who was the president of Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic–owned food company in the United States. After a Catholic upbringing and education in New York, Unanue served in the United States Army during World War II, and was awarded the Bronze star for bravery. He subsequently returned to New York and joined the company his father had founded, Goya Foods. He rose to become president in 1978, a position he held until 2004. Unanue was made a knight of the Order of Malta, and was awarded several honorary doctorates. He died of pulmonary fibrosis in 2013. Early years Unanue's father, Prudencio Unanue Ortiz, was born in Villasana de Mena, in the province of Burgos, in northern Spain. He emigrated to Puerto Rico, where he met a young Spanish girl by the name of Carolina Casal, whose parents also had immigrated to Puerto Rico from Galicia. They were married in the island in 1921 and soon after moved to New York City and settled in Brooklyn where Joseph Unanue was born. Prudencio Unanue worked as a broker for Spanish companies doing business in the U.S. He soon realized that there was a need for Hispanic products in New York City, and in 1936 he founded Goya Foods, a food distributing company, in Manhattan. Prudencio Unanue was very serious about his children's education and enrolled them in Catholic schools. Joseph attended St. Joseph's Grammar School and later St. Cecilia's High School. Since childhood and when not in school, Unanue and his brothers had to work in the family business. His special job was bottling all over olives. In 1943, he graduated from high school but, since World War II was in full swing, he was drafted into the United States Army. World War II After basic training, Unanue attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. However, due to the intensity of the war, he was soon sent to the battlefield. In 1944, his Army company landed in France and soon joined General George S. Patton's 3rd Army at the Battle of the Bulge. Unanue was only 19 years old and a Private First Class when his sergeant died in action. He was then named sergeant in the field and made platoon leader. Unanue pulled his men to safety and was awarded the