The big picture: John Roach, a key figure in helping popularize the home computer in the late 70s, died this week at the age of 83. Roach joined the Tandy Corporation in 1967 at a time when it still focused exclusively on leather goods. The newcomer had experience working with mainframes in college years earlier, and convinced Tandy executives to offer a pre-assembled computer to the masses through RadioShack, a near-bankrupt company it had acquired a few years earlier.

The TRS-80 (short for Tandy RadioShack) debuted for $599.95 at RadioShack stores across the country as one of the few affordable, fully assembled machines on the market.

The computer was a hit, and came at just the right time as Tandy was in the middle of a sales slump. Within just a few years, Tandy represented 40 percent of the small-computer market. Roach became chairman and CEO after the death of Charles D. Tandy, and held the position until he retired in 1999 .

Tandy in 2000 changed its name to RadioShack. It's mostly been a downhill slide for RadioShack ever since filled with bankruptcy proceedings and memorabilia auctions . The company was most recently acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV) in November 2020, who plans to turn it into a cryptocurrency-focused business .

Roach died on March 20 at a hospital in Fort Worth. No cause of death was given. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Image credit Amy Peterson, TCU