Though the store never advertised, youngsters advertised for the store.
Mr. Benn and brothers Nathan and Ruben kept the name in the public eye by sponsoring amateur teams in the Charles Baker League and others, Andrew Benn said.
And those young athletes all wore uniforms sporting the store's name.
To make the store more popular, the brothers made part-time workers out of Eagles kicker Tony Franklin, Flyers captain Mel Bridgman, and others.
And so, Andrew Benn said, the store became a hangout for their friends, who were among the top names on Philadelphia's professional teams, as well as visiting pro athletes.
Philadelphia-bred musical stars, including James Darren and Bobby Rydell, found their home-furnishing accompaniment there, too, Andrew Benn said.
Born in South Philadelphia, Mr. Benn legally changed his family name from Ben because some high school teachers thought Ben was his first name.
He graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1940 and served in the Army until October 1945.
Shortly after the D-Day landings in June 1944, Mr. Benn was injured when his truck, carrying German prisoners of war, hit a land mine.
"He was in the back of the truck guarding the prisoners," several of whom died in the blast, his grandson said. "He limped to the end of his life."
After recovering and earning a Purple Heart, he worked as an Army typist in New York City.
Mr. Benn had begun working in 1939, when he was 16, at the store his father had established in the 1920s as Reliable Furniture.
In the 1950s, David Ben changed the name to honor his eldest son, Nate.
While Herman Benn was overseas during the war, a mutual friend convinced Mr. Benn's future wife, Shaindee, to write to him. He was struck by her penmanship.
But because he had grown up during the Depression, his grandson said, Mr. Benn never went out on a second dinner date with any woman who left food on her plate.
So when he returned to the States, he took his future wife out on their first date, and she wiped her plate clean. Mr. Benn was convinced that she shared his values, his grandson said.
They were married in 1948.
During their years together, they traveled to Havana, Caracas, and Paris.
Mr. Benn contributed to the State of Israel and to what is now the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia.
In 1990, Mr. Benn and his brothers were convicted of "stealing more than $1 million in sales tax revenue over 20 years," the Associated Press reported. Five employees of the store pleaded guilty to filing fraudulent sales tax returns.
The Inquirer's 1993 story about the store's closing noted that Nate Ben died before going to prison but that brothers Herman and Ruben were at that time in the State Correctional Institution at Dallas, Pa.
Andrew Benn said that Herman Benn served about 21/2 years and that the firm paid full restitution.
Besides his grandson, Mr. Benn is survived by sons Joel and Paul, three other grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. His wife of 63 years died in 2011.
Services were set for noon Thursday, Aug. 9, at Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael-Sacks, 6410 N. Broad St., with interment in Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.
Donations may be made to the Jewish National Fund, 2100 Arch St., Third Floor, Philadelphia 19103.
Contact Walter F. Naedele at 215-854-5607 or wnaedele@phillynews.com.
