Colonel Sanders was married twice. His first wife was Josephine King, and his second wife was Claudia Ledington Sanders, who later ran her own Kentucky restaurant. Public records and biographical accounts of the KFC founder confirm both marriages, though details about his first wife stay thin because she never sought public attention.
This piece lays out what’s actually documented about both women — not what tabloid roundups repeat from each other.
Quick Answer
- Colonel Sanders (born Harland David Sanders) married twice.
- First wife: Josephine King, married around 1909, divorced 1947.
- Second wife: Claudia Ledington Sanders, married November 17, 1949, until his death in 1980.
- He had three children with Josephine King. Public records show no children from the marriage to Claudia.
- Claudia Sanders later opened her own Shelbyville, Kentucky restaurant and published a cookbook under her own name.
Quick Facts Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| First wife | Josephine King |
| First marriage | c. 1909–1947 (divorced) |
| Second wife | Claudia Ledington Sanders |
| Second marriage | November 17, 1949, Corbin, Kentucky, until his death |
| Children | Three, all with Josephine King |
| Claudia’s birth | September 9, 1902, Knox County, Kentucky |
| Claudia’s death | Late December 1996, age 94, Shelbyville, Kentucky |
His First Marriage: Josephine King
Sanders married Josephine King in the early 1900s. Wikipedia’s sourced biography lists the year as 1909; some other biographical sketches put it at 1908. Given the conflict, treat the exact year as approximate.
They had three children together:
- Margaret Josephine Sanders (1910–2001)
- Harland David Sanders Jr. (1912–1932)
- Mildred Marie Sanders Ruggles (1919–2010)
Harland Jr. died at 20 from complications after a tonsillectomy, according to Wikipedia’s cited sourcing. It’s one of the few widely reported tragedies from this marriage.
Sanders held a string of jobs in these years — insurance sales, a ferry company, a service station — and the family moved often as a result. Josephine and Harland divorced in 1947, after roughly four decades of marriage.
How He Met Claudia Ledington
Claudia Ledington worked as a waitress at Sanders’ roadside restaurant and service station in Corbin, Kentucky, during the 1930s. He was still married to Josephine at the time.
Some biographical sources, including an account published by the University of New Hampshire’s Rosenberg International Franchise Center, describe Claudia as his longtime companion in the years before his divorce. Other outlets repeat this without adding new sourcing, so treat it as a widely cited but not universally footnoted detail.
Before meeting Sanders, Claudia had already been married once, to a man named Charles Price, and had children from that earlier marriage. She went by Claudia Price in some early records.
The Marriage to Claudia
Harland Sanders and Claudia Ledington married on November 17, 1949, in Corbin, Whitley County, Kentucky — two years after his divorce from Josephine. Genealogical records from Find a Grave list no children from this marriage.
Claudia worked alongside him as his business grew. Her headstone reportedly calls her “the Colonel’s Lady and co-worker in his enterprises,” a description that matches how biographers frame her role: less a background spouse, more an active partner in the food business.
Claudia’s Own Restaurant and Recipe
After Sanders sold Kentucky Fried Chicken to a group of investors in 1964, the couple no longer needed the office and warehouse space on their Shelbyville property. In 1968, they turned it into a restaurant.
It first opened as The Colonel’s Lady. Sanders later fell out with the new KFC ownership over recipe changes, and the restaurant became a point of legal dispute — KFC’s new owner, Heublein, sued him for using his own image to promote a competing restaurant. He countersued.
The original building burned down in 1990. It reopened later that year under a new name: Claudia Sanders Dinner House. The restaurant, still operating in Shelbyville today, serves recipes Claudia developed herself, including her own fried chicken, pies, and yeast rolls. She also published a cookbook under her name.
Claudia’s Later Life and Death
Colonel Sanders died on December 16, 1980, from complications tied to leukemia. Claudia lived another 16 years as his widow, staying involved with the restaurant that carried her name.
She died at her home in Shelbyville in late December 1996, at age 94. Contemporary newspaper coverage, including an Associated Press obituary carried by The Tennessean, confirms the date and cause fits with her age rather than any reported illness — no specific cause of death is detailed in the available reporting. KFC’s then-CEO, David Novak, issued a statement on her death. She was survived by a son, Elvis Ray Price, from her first marriage, along with several siblings.
FAQs
Who was Colonel Sanders’ wife?
He had two wives: Josephine King, whom he married around 1909 and divorced in 1947, and Claudia Ledington Sanders, whom he married in 1949 and remained married to until his death in 1980.
What was Colonel Sanders’ second wife’s name?
Claudia Ledington Sanders, sometimes referred to by her earlier married name, Claudia Price, before she married Sanders.
Did Colonel Sanders have children?
Yes, three, all from his first marriage to Josephine King: Margaret, Harland Jr., and Mildred. Public records don’t show any children from his marriage to Claudia.
How did Colonel Sanders meet Claudia?
She worked as a waitress at his Corbin, Kentucky restaurant and service station in the 1930s, while he was still married to his first wife.
Did Claudia Sanders run her own business?
Yes. She and Sanders opened a restaurant in Shelbyville, Kentucky, in 1968. It’s known today as Claudia Sanders Dinner House and still serves recipes she created.
When did Claudia Sanders die?
Late December 1996, at age 94, at her home in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
Was Colonel Sanders’ relationship with Claudia controversial?
Some biographical accounts describe their relationship as beginning while he was still married to Josephine. Reporting on the specifics of that period is limited, and Celebtually hasn’t found a primary source — like a Sanders interview — confirming details beyond what biographers have written.
Key Takeaways
- Colonel Sanders married twice: Josephine King, then Claudia Ledington Sanders.
- All three of his children came from his first marriage.
- Claudia Sanders built her own identity in the food business, running a restaurant and publishing a cookbook.
- She died in 1996, sixteen years after her husband.
Conclusion
Colonel Sanders’ public story is mostly about fried chicken and a franchise empire. His marriages get far less coverage, and the record on Josephine King in particular stays sparse because she never became a public figure herself. Claudia Sanders is better documented, mainly because she ran a restaurant under her own name for decades after his death. Where sources disagree — like the exact year he married Josephine — this article says so rather than picking a number to sound certain.
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