Gerald ‘Jerry’ Hirsch Executive with the old P.N.Hirsch Company and laterInterco. Gerald “Jerry” Hirsch, a business executive, died Wednesday (Aug. 16,2006) after an extended illness at the Parc Provence nursing and assisted living center in Creve Coeur. He was 82 and a resident of Clayton. Mr. Hirsch was born in Glen Carbon, Illinois, the youngest of seven children. He attended The Uni- versity of Missouri at Columbia. Mr.Hirsch then enlisted in the Navy and participated in a special war time training program that saw about 200 men receive instruction at Wellesley College in Massachusetts during World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant and was stationed in the Pacific, where he witnessed the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. During the 1930s, Mr.Hirsch joined the family business, P.N. Hirsch & Co. The company operated a chain of small-town de- partment stores specializing in soft dry goods. The stores, more than one hundred, were located in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.Mr.Hirsch served as president and chief executive officer for the company. In 1964, Interco, formerly International Shoe Co., bought the company. As part of Interco Inc., the number of stores reached nearly 400, located in 30 states from the Midwest to the West Coast. The stores operated under the names P.N.Hirsch, Shainberg’s and Kent’s. The stores were later purchased by Dollar General Corp. Mr.Hirsch retired from Interco, where he had served as vice-president in1984.

Visitation will be at 2p.m.today followed by a funeral service at 2:30p.m.at Temple
Emmanuel, 12166 Conway Road in Creve Coeur. Burial will be private. Among the survivors are his wife of nearly 60 years, Sylvia Hirsch; a son,Dr.John Hirschof Ladue; a daughter, Betty Goran of Ladue; and four grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wellness Community, 1058 Old Des Peres Road, St.Louis,Mo.63131.