It’s L.L. Bean legend. Nearly every Mainer knows the story of how Leon A. Gorman came to lead the Freeport outfitter that his aging grandfather, L.L. Bean, had little interest in growing.

Following the deaths of L.L. Bean and his son Carl in 1967, Gorman wasted no time in taking the reins and expanding L.L.Bean Inc., instituting its now-famous guarantee while remaining mindful of the company’s heritage of quality and fairness.

At first growth came slowly, increasing from annual sales of about $3 million in 1966 to more than $7 million by the end of the decade. By the time Gorman retired as president and CEO in 2001, the company was selling more than $1 billion worth of outdoor sporting goods and apparel annually. That number hit $1.6 billion in 2013.

Over that same period, Gorman became widely known in Maine and beyond for his philanthropy and his involvement in numerous causes, while applying much of the company’s considerable charitable work toward conservation and recreation.

In observance of Gorman’s death Sept. 3, L.L.Bean will close its Freeport stores for four hours on Sunday, Sept. 13, for the first time since L.L. Bean’s funeral in 1967.

Here are some lesser-known facts about Gorman:

* Born in Nashua, N.H., on Dec. 20, 1934, the third son of John Gorman and his wife, Barbara, L.L. Bean’s only daughter.

* Graduated cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.

* In 1956, worked briefly in Boston as a Filene’s merchandise trainee, then joined the U.S. Navy.

* Discharged from the Navy in 1960 in Brunswick, he stopped by Bowdoin College, where placement director Sam Ladd suggested he stop in Freeport to see if L.L. Bean had a job for him.

* Bean hired him on the spot, at a starting salary of $80 a week. “He always had a soft spot for unemployed relatives,” Gorman later said.

* When he was hired, Gorman was the only person in the company to have a college degree.

* For the next six years, he later said, he had virtually all of his ideas for growth and modernization vetoed by Bean and his son Carl. “Why expand when you’re 90 years old?,” L.L. asked.

* During those next six years, Gorham began having an impact on the company, growing the showroom at a pace of about 15 percent a year while the company as a whole was growing by 1 to 2 percent.

* In 1962, he was introduced to the sport of fly-casting by old-timer Wid Griffin on the roof of Bean’s warehouse. “If I were in another business,” he’d tell Time magazine, “I probably wouldn’t care much about hunting or fishing, but I’m learning fast.”

* That same year he began taking two business courses per semester at the University of Maine in Portland.

* He convinced Bean to send out the company’s first 32-page Christmas catalog in 1963.

* He became the company’s vice president and treasurer following the death of L.L. Bean in February 1967.

* Later that year he became the third president and CEO of L.L.Bean Inc. in nine months, following the October death of his uncle Carl Bean, who’d been running the business after L.L. Bean died.

* In the spring 1968 catalog, Gorman included the company’s first guarantee statement, which was based on that of Sears.

* He shocked Freeport in 1969 when he had the gall to put carpeting on the stairs and showroom floor. “Place hasn’t been the same since,” said one old-timer. What was next, the locals wondered, computers?

* In the spring of 1974 he introduced inventory-tracking computers to the company.

* While serving on the board of Central Maine Power in 1980, he opposed the closing of the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant.

* Gorman implemented toll-free telephone ordering in 1985. It resulted in 3 million incoming calls and a phone bill of $5.3 million.

* Published his memoir “L.L.Bean: The Making of an American Icon” in 2006.

James Witherell is the author of “L. L. Bean: The Man and His Company.”

Lockless L.L.Bean will close Sunday for Gorman funeral

FREEPORT — L.L.Bean, the store that never sleeps, is going to temporarily close its doors?

That was the reaction of many when the retailer announced it would close its flagship store in Freeport from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Sept. 13, to honor the legacy of former company president and CEO Leon Gorman, who died Sept. 3. His funeral is Sunday, Sept. 13. 

On only two other occasions — after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and after the death of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean in 1967 — has the store closed its doors. 

“Here at L.L.Bean in Freeport, we truly have no locks on the doors and we haven’t in decades,” spokesman Mac McKeever acknowledged.

So how do you close a store that has no locks?

“In advance of Sunday, we are putting out signage in the foyer of each store that announces the store will be closed from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday out of respect for Leon’s passing,” McKeever said.

“On Sunday, we will be putting out signage in front of each store announcing the closure of the store from 8 a.m. to noon. In addition, we will have staff at each store entrance informing customers of the store closure, encouraging them to come back at noon, when the store reopens.”

McKeever said people calling the store directly will receive an automated message saying the store is closed for those four hours in honor of Gorman’s passing, and they will be given the option to be transferred to one of L.L.Bean’s call centers.

Only the flagship store in Freeport will be closed. “All other facilities, including our call centers and additional retail store locations outside of Maine, will continue to operate,” McKeever said.

A memorial service for Gorham will be held at 10 a.m. at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. Burial will be private.