Francis R. Strawbridge III, chairman of Strawbridge & Clothier and a longtime community leader, died in his 86th year of life
Francis R. Strawbridge III, 86, of Bryn Mawr, retired chairman of Strawbridge & Clothier and longtime community activist, died Monday, April 22, of age-related changes at his home at Beaumont Nursing Home.
Mr. Strawbridge, great-grandson of store founder Justus Strawbridge and a fourth-generation executive, served as chairman of the Philadelphia department store's board of directors from 1984 to 1996. He joined the family business in 1961 as an assistant buyer and went on to become buyer, merchandise manager, secretary-treasurer and vice chairman before taking over as chairman with his cousin, Peter Strawbridge, who was president of the company at the time.
As chairman of the board, Mr. Strawbridge was responsible for the company's operations, personnel, supervision, planning, development and research. He helped the company maintain its independence during turbulent economic periods, retain its position in suburban markets and discount retailing, and post record profits and sales in 1984.
He oversaw the renovation of the flagship store at Eighth and Market streets in the early 1990s and helped organize the company's 125th anniversary celebration in 1993. Shoppers and colleagues admired his friendliness and attention to detail, and he himself told The Inquirer in 2019 that the holiday seasons were his favorite.
"Approaching the Thanksgiving to Christmas season is the most exciting time of the year", he says. "The stores are crowded. It's a great time to be on the sales floor and mingle with the crowds. It's wonderful".
He said everyone who worked at the company was part of his "store family" and his wife, Mary Jo, said: "His care and concern for employees was genuine. He had an innate fairness and kindness about him".
"We had a promotion where we offered free ear piercing if you bought a pair of small round earrings with gold balls. Everyone came in for that. I think they were lining up all over the first floor". Mr. Strawbridge on one of his favorite stocks in 2019
According to his family, Mr. Strawbridge especially enjoyed merchandising in the 1960s and '70s because he interacted with creative salespeople and buyers and traveled to Europe and other countries around the world. He was known for chatting up shoppers on the fourth floor at Eighth and Market and tidying up display cases as he made his rounds.
"He loved meeting new people and hearing about them", his wife says.
Mr. Strawbridge admired his cousin Peter, and the two worked well together as senior executives. "He was a wonderful person, a straightforward conversationalist and thinker", says Peter Strawbridge. "I couldn't have asked for more". In 1996, the family sold May Department Stores Co.
In his spare time, Mr. Strawbridge enjoyed the culture of Philadelphia and held leadership positions in many civic and business organizations. He served on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Germantown Hospital, Einstein Medical Center, Temple University and other organizations.
He was president of the Lower Merion Botanical Society and the Ralston Center, and, with his cousin, co-chaired a fundraising campaign for United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania in 1991. "He had a tremendous interest and respect for Philadelphia", says his wife.
Francis Reeves Strawbridge III was born December 14, 1937, in Bryn Mawr. He grew up in Villanova, graduated from Haverford High School in 1955 and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Princeton University in 1959.
He served in the Army and Army Reserve and, as was required of all family members in corporate leadership positions, completed a leadership training program he attended at Bloomingdale's in New York City. Family and friends called him Frank and Fran. His cousin Peter called him Frans.
He married Patricia Webb in 1962, they had daughters Cynthia and Pamela. After his divorce he married Mary Jo Beatty in 1969, they had daughters Lynn and Meg. He and his wife lived in Philadelphia and Merion before moving to Beaumont three years ago.
As a young man, Mr. Strawbridge lived on a ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and often returned there to roam the open spaces. He played tennis and golf, followed Eagles games closely and regularly kept score at Phillies games.
He traveled with his family, embraced his Quaker heritage and loved to talk about art and history. He was a "gentleman, a kind soul", a friend wrote in a Facebook post.
His wife said: "He had a wonderful smile. He liked people. He enjoyed life".
In addition to his wife and daughters, Mr. Strawbridge is survived by four grandchildren, a sister and other relatives. A brother and his former wife died earlier.