Tim Hortons Co-Founder Ron Joyce Dies at Age 88

Ron Joyce sips a coffee in Toronto on Friday, October 20, 2006. Joyce, the co-founder of the Tim Hortons empire, passed away at the age of 88. The Canadian Press/Aaron Harris

Ron Joyce, who rose from a childhood marked by the Great Depression to co-found the Tim Hortons doughnut chain, has died at the age of 88.

Joyce died Thursday, peacefully in his Burlington, Ont. home with his family at his side, the family said in a statement.