Larry Dickman's story began on a small farm outside of Hammond, Minnesota, where he was born in 1934. When the family moved to Oregon, Larry's mother grew tired of her husband's nonstop drinking. She gave her son a choice: Come with her and his sister or stay with his father.

He made the wrong choice by staying with his dad, but things brightened up at a church social when he met Elaine Rogers, the girl he'd marry after serving a few years in the U.S. Navy.

Becoming a family man meant paying bills, and he stumbled into selling cookware. At first, he made $50 for every set of...