Edward Flynn, 70, president of school uniform firm

Edward J. Flynn, 70, of Gwynedd Valley, president of Flynn & O'Hara Uniforms Inc., died of heart failure Sunday at his winter home in Jupiter, Fla.

Mr. Flynn founded his company in 1972 with Edward J. O'Hara. The firm, headquartered in Northeast Philadelphia, is the largest school uniform vendor in the country, with 29 stores in six states. It employs 250 people full time and more than 900 in the summer, when it is meeting orders for the coming year.

Locally, the firm supplies uniforms to students at the 22 high schools administered by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "We built our business on better quality and service," Mr. Flynn told a reporter in 2000.

His sons Sean and Kevin and daughter Eireann Marzarella work for the company. He continued to play an active role in the business, Sean Flynn said. "His employees considered him larger than life, and he felt fortunate to be surrounded by such talented and hardworking people," his son said.

A native of Germantown, Mr. Flynn graduated from Northeast Catholic High School.

He worked for a distributor of religious habits for several years before deciding to sell school uniforms.

He loved Irish music, reading, card games, and the beaches in Avalon, N.J., and Jupiter. His passions were his family, his friends, and his business, his son said.

In addition to his sons and daughter, Mr. Flynn is survived by his wife of 45 years, Eileen Brett Flynn; daughter Meganne Borneman; two brothers; two sisters; and 12 grandchildren.

Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at St. Rose of Lima Church, 424 S. Main St., North Wales, where a Funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Friday. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.

Memorial donations may be made to the Edward J. Flynn Memorial Scholarship Fund in care of Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS), 222 N. 17th St., Philadelphia 19103.