Irving Mann, a World War II veteran who co-founded Rochester, N.Y.-based Mann’s Jewelers and later appeared in its ads, died March 6, just shy of his 90th birthday, according to an obituary.
Mann fought in the D-Day invasion of Normandy under Gen. George Patton and later received a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and a citation from the French Legion of Honor. In 2013, his dog tags were found and returned to him after nearly 70 years.
Following the war, Mann and his late wife, Gertrude, opened a store in Rochester, following in the footsteps of his Russian immigrant father, Louis, who ran a store in Buffalo, N.Y. He later starred in a memorable commercial as a cab driver who took passengers to the best “jewelry store in New York.”
Mann’s children, Nancy and Robert Mann, now run the company, which in 2013 opened a store in Victor, N.Y. Last year, the JCK Design Center cited the store as one of the Top 50 of 2014.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rochester General Hospital or Jewish Senior Life Foundation in his memory.
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