Frank Estey, 78; mentored, led growth of Marshalls stores

"We came up with our own concept of discounting quality brand name merchandise, including clothing for the entire family, shoes, and domestics," he told the Globe in 1977. "The customer has become more oriented to shopping for value. While still label-conscious, there is no longer dedication to a particular store because people are so mobile now."

Along with Al Marshall and a few others, he built a business from the single location where Marshall began in Beverly into a nationwide chain of hundreds of stores. Mr. Estey, who served as president of Marshalls and later became a mentor to young entrepreneurs in retail, died March 8 in his Boston home of complications of a brain tumor. He was 78.

"We were partners, but Frank was in charge," Marshall said. "I started it; he built it up. I give all the credit to Frank. He was a great guy and, another thing, very honest."

Along with being honest, Mr. Estey was willing to take chances when necessary. Indeed, at times he found risk restorative.

He liked to vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, where he went swimming for an hour each day. Keeping an eye on his watch, he would swim out into the sea for a half hour, then turn around and swim back.

"I said: 'You're scaring me. Why don't you go swim sideways by the shore?' And he said, 'Yeah, but then the palms of my hands wouldn't sweat,' " his wife, Evelyn, recalled with a chuckle. "He liked that excitement. He liked to live on the edge a little bit."

Frank Crocker Estey Jr. grew up in Beverly and graduated from Beverly High School before heading to New York City, where he attended Columbia University. He left college to play semipro football for a few years.

Off season, Mr. Estey worked for the YMCA and considered staying with that organization until he took a job at a store that sold military surplus clothing. While there, he met the partners with whom he would help turn Al Marshall's Beverly store into a far-reaching chain.

For about 23 years, Mr. Estey was married to Laura DiFazio Estey of Gloucester. Their marriage ended in divorce, and he married Evelyn Zandri 30 years ago.

"He was a romantic and a wonderful husband; he just had a wonderful spirit and heart," his wife said. "He also was a great dancer. He loved dancing, and he pleased all the ladies wherever we went. I'd say, 'Go ahead, go ahead, so-and-so is a widow.' "Mr. Estey was just as generous showing young executives how to waltz through the crowded floor of the business world.

"I met him about four or five years ago when I was looking for someone to mentor me with my business," said Greg Selkoe, chief executive of Karmaloop, an online clothing retail company that also has a flagship store on Newbury Street. "He was really a life saver because he helped us plan our inventory management database. . . . He designed the whole thing."

Such attention to what makes companies work well was apparent when Mr. Estey and his friends built the Marshalls chain in the late 1950s and '60s. "He was the instigator who thought big," Marshall said. "Frank was great in management."

Selkoe added that, contrary to an image some might conjure of an older gentleman who first delved into retail leadership about a half-century ago, Mr. Estey was "a stylish and imposing figure" who dressed in black and arrived for visits clasping his black satchel, sunglasses in place.

"He was a real mentor and father figure to the company, a no-nonsense type of guy, but he was a lot of fun," Selkoe said. "The tougher parts of business he really coached you through, but he came to the company parties and really fit in great, even though he was so much older than everyone."

Mr. Estey fit in just as well when his second marriage added to his parental duties.

"He was such a dedicated father. He came into my life when I was around 7," said his son, Jeffrey. "He just embraced me and never let go.

"He was a mentor to me for life and for business later on, and he was always there when I needed him," his son said. "He was like this pillar of strength."

That strength didn't waver, Mr. Estey's wife said, even when he was diagnosed with cancer.

"They only gave him 5 1/2 months to live, and he lived 19 months," she said. "He never complained or tried to cut back on his activities, and he worked until his last week. Two days before he died, he found some mistakes on some business documents that a partner showed him. He was an unbelievably strong guy. I just can't describe his strength and dignity."

In addition to his wife, son, and former wife, Mr. Estey leaves three daughters, Cathy of Boston, Paula of Newburyport, and Jillian Estey Viennet of Paris; seven grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

A service has been held.