OBITUARY: Selwyn Lemchen

Selwyn Lemchen, 92, of Longboat Key and Boston, died Friday, Jan. 28.

Born May 31, 1918, he was raised in Brookline, Mass., and began his career in retail as assistant shoe buyer at Enterprise stores, where he worked for his father, Benjamin Lemchen. After serving as an Army medic during World War II, Mr. Lemchen returned to Boston where he quickly worked his way to the position of top buyer in the women’s and shoe departments.

In 1955, Mr. Lemchen made a risky decision to leave Enterprise and open his first large discount store in an old textile mill. He invested his entire savings in the Kerr Mill Bargain Center in Fall River, Mass. Over the next few years, he expanded the business into a chain of 11 stores throughout the Northeast. He was an early believer in the concept of discount stores and spearheaded the evolution of the conventional department store chain into what was then one of the country’s fastest growing discount chains.

At 49, Lemchen sold his company to Interstate Department Store, where he was vice president and director. He founded the company’s Topps division, which eventually became a 42-store discount chain.

After retiring, Mr. Lemchen spent much of his time on Longboat Key, where he enjoyed golf, fishing and taking his family out on his boat, the Lem-Chen.

Mr. Lemchen is survived by his wife of 67 years, Peark; daughters Louise Millman, of New York City, and Madelene Posternak, of Boston and Boca Raton; sister, Lenore Prague, of Newton, Mass.; and two grandchildren.