Leading member of Roches Stores retailing empire

Stanley Roche: STANLEY ROCHE, who has died at the age of 80, was the head of the Cork branch of Roches Stores, which for most…

Stanley Roche:STANLEY ROCHE, who has died at the age of 80, was the head of the Cork branch of Roches Stores, which for most of the last century was synonymous with Irish retailing.

The hugely successful Roche empire was founded in Cork in 1901 by William Roche, a farmer's son who had trained in the city's most famous department store, Cash's. By the late 1920s, the family was able to buy a key premises on Henry Street in Dublin - and, 10 years later, added another major shop in Limerick to their operations.

After William's death in 1939, the family fortunes continued to prosper under the guidance of his widow Kathleen, who ran the business until her son, William jnr, was able to take over.

William jnr worked in the family business from 1937, two years before his father's death, and was later joined by his two younger brothers, Raymond and Stanley.

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By 1950, all three brothers were working in the family business with Stanley Roche running the Cork store. He expanded the Patrick's Street store in the 1970s and 1980s and also established a new store at the Wilton Shopping Centre which further cemented the brand in the Cork consciousness.

Former employees this week recalled "an unassuming gentleman" who took great pride in his stores. After business lunches he would decline offers of a drink, saying: "I must get back to the shop." He was heavily involved in the business until the Roches Stores chain was sold to Debenhams two years ago.

He was very supportive of the Guardwell Sheltered Housing Project for the elderly in Kinsale, the local community hospital and many charities in the Kinsale area.

In June 1972, Roche was involved in a high profile High Court case. A German businessman, Werner Braun, sued him for damages for criminal conversation, claiming that Roche had debauched Braun's wife, Heide.

Opening the case, counsel for Braun, EM Wood, told the jury that Roche, with his wealth, had "not merely debauched Mr Braun's wife, but has corrupted her. Mr Braun's only vindication is the damages at your hands." The jury awarded Braun damages of £12,000.

Heide became Roche's second wife (he had separated from his first wife, Cary), and friends described them as an "inseparable" couple.

Roche was a keen sailor. Once he was on a boat in Crosshaven in workmen's clothes. Two wealthy American ladies reportedly stopped and asked him for directions and he responded to their queries. Not knowing that he was a wealthy businessman, they gave him a tip. Friends remember that Roche laughed aloud at the incident and kept the money for posterity.

Stanley Roche is survived by his wife Heide and his family, Nicholas, Peter, Morgan and Ondine as well as his stepchildren Bronwen and Owen. He is also survived by his sisters Babs and Marie and brother Willie.

Stanley Roche: born September 26th, 1928; died July 7th, 2008