Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) co-founder and former President Elmer Winter died Oct. 22 at the age of 97, the company reported.

Winter co-founded a staffing office in 1948 with his brother-in-law, Aaron Scheinfeld, that later became Manpower. He retired in 1976 but kept regular office hours at the Manpower World Headquarters in Milwaukee.

Winter was also known for his artistic, philanthropic and social initiatives. He started the Manpower Foundation and Youthpower, an initiative to provide summer job placement services to Milwaukee teenagers.

"Elmer was a role model for everyone in the Manpower organization regardless of position, age or function. He was a dedicated family man, a tireless worker, a compassionate manager and a loyal friend," said Mitchell Fromstein, former Manpower CEO (1976-1999). "He set the standards by which his successors would operate and set the stage for unbridled growth. He was, and will continue to be, an icon of the Manpower culture."

Fromstein took over as CEO from Winter in 1976. Present CEO, Jeff Joerres, took over from Fromstein in 1999.

Winter's first job was delivering fruits and vegetables by horse-drawn cart to brewery workers in 1922.

"I could have never imagined it - becoming president of a company that would one day have offices across the globe," Winter told filmmakers creating a documentary commemorating Manpower's 60th anniversary in 2008. "I was not an outstanding kind of a guy that was bound to succeed. I was just a nice guy."

Winter was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Nanette, in 1990. He is survived by his wife, Hope; three daughters, Sue Freeman, Lynn Winter Gross, Martha Gross Tracy; son-in-law Robert Tracy; eight grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.