John T. Dorrance Jr.; Former Campbell Soup Executive

CAMDEN, N.J. — John T. Dorrance Jr., whose family founded Campbell Soup Co. and who later became its chairman and one of the nation’s wealthiest men, died here Sunday of an apparent heart attack. He was 70.

Dorrance joined Campbell, which was founded by his great uncle, in 1946 after several years in the Army in World War II. He spent 16 years working in various departments of the company, including a stint as a floor foreman in the Camden plant.

Dorrance oversaw Campbell’s expansion into the Swanson line of frozen dinners and its Pepperidge Farm baked goods.

He was elected to Campbell’s board of directors in 1947 and chairman of the board in 1962. He retired in 1984 and was elected chairman of the board’s executive committee.

Last year, Forbes magazine estimated his worth at more than $1.2 billion.

Dorrance, who lived in Gladwyne, Pa., is survived by his wife, Diana, and three children: John, also a Campbell board member, of Devils Tower, Wyo; Bennett, of Paradise Valley, Ariz., and Mary Alice Dorrance Malone, of Coatesville, Pa.