Jack Goldsmith led store in era beyond retail
In Jack Goldsmith’s day, a department store was nothing like it is today.
No, back then, a department store wasn’t just a place you went to shop, like a modern Sears or Target. Back then, such stores were an entertainment destination, a place that drew visitors from around a region. Such stores offered top-tier restaurants, art displays, special exhibits and every now and then, a movie star or two.
In Memphis, such a department store was Goldsmith’s, founded in 1870 on Beale Street. The department store grew and added other locations around the city, ultimately lasting 135 years before it became Macy’s in 2005.
Mr. Goldsmith, the longtime president of Goldsmith’s and one of the last surviving department store executives from those golden days, died in Florida on Friday after a short illness. He was 102.
“People came from all over the Mid-South to spend the day, go to the restaurant,” said his son, Larry Goldsmith.
Added his grandson, Jack Goldsmith III: “He would always talk about Goldsmith’s not just as a place where you bought things, but a place where people came to enjoy themselves.”
Mr. Goldsmith spent
much of his life working for the family chain, learning from his grandfather Jacob, who founded the store. And while a department store in those days needed a showman’s flair, it also needed to be able to provide just about anything a customer could need.
“Our policy is not only to carry standard merchandise, but to carry complete stocks,” Mr. Goldsmith told The Commercial Appeal in 1934. “Take our men’s clothing department, for example. We have suits from size 32 to size 52, long stout. Rarely do we have a call for a 52 long stout, but we take pride in running a complete store.”
When Goldsmith’s was bought by Federated De- partment Stores in 1957, Mr. Goldsmith stayed on for another eight years to help with the transition. In 1967, he retired to Florida, where he spent the rest of his life.
During his years in Memphis, he devoted much of his time to various community endeavors, including serving as a director of the First National Bank; a director of Baptist Hospital; a Trustee of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; a member of the building committee of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital; and president of the Goldsmith Charitable Foundation.
“He was just a great man in every respect. In his Memphis days, he was a hugely successful businessman and community leader. He was hugely generous in spirit,” Jack Goldsmith III said.
After retiring from the Army in 1945, he also served the U. S. government in the 1950s on trade missions to Greece and Austria.
But perhaps the thing his family remembers most is his touch with people, they said Sunday.
“He really related to people on whatever level they came at him. He was loved by everyone, top to bottom, princes to paupers,” Jack Goldsmith III said.
Added his son, Larry: “He touched not only family, but friends.”
Mr. Goldsmith is also survived by a daughter, Joan Marks; two other sons, Jack Goldsmith Jr. and Melvin Goldsmith; 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.