Former Monroe resident co-owner of men's store

12/22/2000

MONROE - Stanford Schwartz, who with his brother, Charles, operated the former Diamond Men's Wear on Front Street here, died Tuesday at his home in Phoenix of undermined causes. His family said he had undergone triple-bypass heart surgery several weeks ago. He was 73.

The two brothers operated the clothing store for many years, at one point specializing in the sale of athletic jackets and tuxedo rentals for proms and weddings, Teri Schwartz, his daughter said. Her father concentrated on sales and her uncle did the record-keeping.

They took over the business from their parents, who acquired it in the late 1940s shortly after moving to Monroe from Elkhart, Ind. The store offered a full line of men's clothing, from suits and hats to shoes.

“It was a very family-oriented business, small-town business,'' Ms. Schwartz said. “Customers came from Monroe and Toledo. If my dad didn't have it, he would call and find it.''

Some high school seniors got their first taste of the retail business when he hired them to work at the store, she said. Over the years, Diamond's sponsored 26 athletic teams in the Monroe area. Mr. Schwartz was a member of B'Nai Brith, playing on several softball and bowling teams.

The store was closed in 1991 as area shopping malls made it more difficult for the downtown store to compete.

Mr. Schwartz went to work as a salesman for Sacks Furniture for several years before moving with his wife to Phoenix. In little time, he was working again, heading the men's department at a Robinson-May department store.

“He was friendly and had a dry sense of humor,'' Jeff Schwartz, his son, said. “He loved to talk to people.''

Born in Toledo, he was a child when he moved to Elkhart with his family, graduating from Elkhart High School and Elkhart Business University.

He enlisted in the Navy near the close of World War II and was recalled to duty to serve during the Korean War.

Surviving are his wife, Karen; daughter, Teri Schwartz; son, Jeff; brother, Charles; stepdaughter, Kris Palmiter; stepsons, Kelly and Kevin Palmiter, and four grandchildren.

Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Robert H. Wick/Wisniewski Funeral Home. The family requests tributes to the Temple B'Nai Israel, the American Heart Association, or a charity of the donor's choice.