Carl Bennett, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder with his wife Dorothy of the Caldor discount department store chain, died Dec. 23 at his home in Greenwich, CT. He was 101.

The Caldor stores continued to expand from the 1950s to the mid 1980s until the Bennetts sold the company of 120 stores to Associated Dry Goods. They had opened their first store in 1951, in a walkup loft in Port Chester, NY, and soon expanded to Stamford, Norwalk and Riverside, CT. In 1961, Caldor became publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange. In 1983, Caldor reached $1 billion in sales.

Carl Bennett received Israel’s Prime Minister Award for distinguished service in 1973, and was awarded Discounter of the Year in 1982. He was inducted into the Retailer Hall of Fame in 1983.

The Bennetts gave generously to Stamford Hospital, Fairfield University, Greenwich Hospital, Jewish Senior Services, the Weitzmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, and Yeshiva University.