Stanley W. Mann, 96, World War II veteran and heating-oil business executive
Mr. Mann was regarded by friends as the quintessential gentlemen and a "mensch." He always appeared in a sports coat and tie, even in Florida's summer heat.
Stanley Wean Mann, 96, formerly of Philadelphia, a World War II veteran and business executive in the city, died Friday, Sept. 15, of lymphoma at a hospice in Palm Beach, Fla.
Mr. Mann started out in Germantown and then lived in Mount Airy until 1976, when he bought the former Breyer estate in Bryn Mawr. In 1985, he sold the estate to Ed Snider, then chairman of Comcast Spectacor. Five years later, Mr. Mann retired and moved to Palm Beach.
Mr. Mann owned and operated a business that distributed heating oil to homes and offices in Pennsylvania and Delaware. He took a family business, Keystone Coal & Wood Co., ran it with his father for a time, and then developed it into an entity called Diamond Industries. The company was based in Wilmington.
Early in his career, he was featured by Forbes magazine as "someone to watch" and recognized as a principled and engaging businessman, his family said.
During good times and bad, he firmly believed that "money didn't care who owned it," and managed the fruits of his labor to make sure family and friends shared in his success.
Mr. Mann was known as a character. As a teenager, "Stan the Mann," as he was referred to by friends, wasn't much of an athlete, but liked to show off. One summer, while in Atlantic City, he took an eye to Bernice Sherman and did cartwheels down the Boardwalk to impress her. She was not amused.
But in 1946, after nine years of courtship, friendly cajoling, and a barrage of telegrams, she gave in and set aside a successful modeling career in New York City to marry him.
She said the secret to their 62-year marriage was "respect and compromise." He said they always made the marriage a priority and were honest with each other. "And they always laughed together," their family said.
Born in Germantown to Rose Ellen Wean and David I. Mann, Mr. Mann graduated from Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va., at age 16.
"Not only did he graduate at the top of his class and win awards, he won the most awards anyone had ever won at graduation," said his daughter, Meredith Kahoe Berry. He went on to graduate three years later with a bachelor of science degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Mann was inducted into the Army in June 1943. He served three years during World War II as a military police officer and participated in Allied campaigns in central Europe, the Rhineland, and the Ardennes, including the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Meritorious Service Unit Award and the European-African-Middle Eastern Medal with three battle stars. He was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of first lieutenant.
An active civic volunteer, Mr. Mann served on the boards of the Allied Jewish Appeal, American Cancer Society Crusade, Arthritis Foundation Eastern Pennsylvania, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia, and what is now the United Way.
He enjoyed membership in the Locust Club in Philadelphia and in various social and golf clubs based in Palm Beach.
Mr. Mann was regarded by friends as the quintessential gentlemen and a "mensch." He always appeared in a sports coat and tie, even in Florida's summer heat. He was cheerful and optimistic.
"Stan always stood when women approached a table, always held a door, and always believed the glass is half full," his family said.
His wife died in 2008. Besides his daughter, he is survived by a son, Robert; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were private.
The family asks that in Mr. Mann's memory, mourners reach out to help "those you know personally, who are in need." Mr. Mann quietly wrote checks to people he knew who were struggling financially, his daughter said.