other notable deaths

The Baltimore Sun

CHARLES LAZARUS, 93 Headed chain of stores

Charles Lazarus, the last member of his family to lead the Lazarus chain of department stores, died Monday after a brief illness at home in suburban Gahanna, Ohio, his son Stuart Lazarus said.

The chain, founded in 1851 by Mr. Lazarus' great-grandfather as a one-room men's clothing store in Columbus, grew to more than 40 stores in five states in the Midwest. The family's influence declined when Federated Department Stores Inc. moved Lazarus' headquarters to Cincinnati in 1986.

Mr. Lazarus started as a sales clerk in his family's Columbus store in 1936 after graduating from Yale University with bachelor's degrees in American history and art history. He became president of the chain in 1959 and added the titles of chairman and chief executive officer 10 years later.

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