Natonal Clothesline

Andrew J. Talone, retired president of A. Talone Dry Cleaners in Ardmore, PA, passed away on January 8 at Haverford Estates, a retirement community where he dwelled. He was 91.

A lifelong resident of suburban Philadelphia, Talone was born in the same year that his father, Alphonso, began cleaning clothes in a converted barn located behind his tailor shop. He attended West Catholic High School for Boys, where he was a member of the football team.

When his father, who had started the business in 1895, passed away in 1931, Andrew took over the main responsibilities for the family business along with his younger siblings, which included three sisters and two brothers.

In time, he expanded the services of Talone Dry Cleaners to include a drapery department and the cleaning and storing of fur coats.

Andrew’s son, Andrew Jr., noted that his father worked hard to develop quality customer service in his business and earned a reputation for paying special attention to customers’ concerns.

In an article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1995, consumer investigative TV reporter Herb Denenberg discussed his thoughts on Talone Dry Cleaning, saying: “They run a high quality business. They almost always do it right, and when they screw up, there’s always somebody you can talk to about it.”

Talone was especially proud of his activities with the International Fabricare Institute. He was an IFI board member, representing cleaners in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

Though he retired in the 1990s, Andrew continued to visit the office to help his son, who currently runs the company with his two cousins.

In addition to being active in the industry, Talone also played several roles in his local community. He served two terms as Lower Merion Township commissioner in the 1960s and was a board member of the Merion Fire Company, the Bryn Mawr Kiwanis Club and the Main Line Chamber of Commerce.

He was also a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus and a member of the Overbrook Golf Club, the Catholic Philpatrian Society and the Society of Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

Talone was married to Josephine Gleason Talone for 20 years before she died in 1959. He was married a second time to Helen Maguire Talone in 1963. She passed away in 2001.

He is survived by his son Andrew, Jr.; daughters Mary Cavalier and Sister Alice Talone; one sister; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.