NORTH BETHESDA, Md. — Len DeMino, who spent over half a century involved in community pharmacy, died last month. He was 81.

After receiving a pharmacy degree in 1956 from George Washington University, De­Mino began a long, distinguished career as a pharmacist and industry advocate in 1958 with Washington, D.C.-based Peoples Drug Stores. He eventually became that chain’s vice president of professional services.

DeMino retired from Peoples in 1989 and joined the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, spearheading efforts to influence its members to become more involved in pharmacy and government affairs. He retired from NACDS in 2009. Later that year the NACDS Foundation established the Leonard J. De­Mino Pharmacy Student Scholarship.

De­Mino also served as an instructor in the department of pharmacy practice, college of pharmacy and pharmacal sciences at Howard University and as a member of the medical college of the Virginia School of Pharmacy advisory board. He served on many committees and task forces during his career, including as a member of the Maryland Board of Pharmacy for 13 years and as a board member of the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education.

“The growth and success of the profession of pharmacy and where it stands today in our society and in health care delivery is the result of it standing on the shoulders of giants. In every sense of the word, Len DeMino is one of those giants,” reflected NACDS president and chief executive Steve Anderson. "We will continue to see that in the future of pharmacy, because we have all benefited from the passion, commitment and love of Len for not only the profession of pharmacy but the people that it serves.

“Len DeMino was a humanitarian who devoted himself to the promotion of human welfare and the advancement of pharmacy,” Anderson added. “Len embodied everything good about our nation and our industry.”

DeMino is survived by his wife Delores, a daughter, a son and three grandchildren.