Former GEM Cleaners owner George Brauch dies at 100

From performing in vaudeville acts to becoming a longtime owner of a dry cleaning store in Rockville Centre, George Brauch always found himself in the public eye. His humor and catchy ads for his business made him a prominent figure in the village.

Brauch, who recently died at age 100 in Pawley’s Island, S.C., was born in Hungary on March 16, 1916. At a younger age, was in vaudeville in the 1930s with his brother, Billy, and his group — Billy Branch and Company. He joined the entertainment company after graduating high school, but left after suffering a second broken collarbone. He decided to buy a dry cleaning business in Brooklyn before moving to Long Island.

Around his time as a showman, Brauch was introduced to Barbara (“Bobbie”) in 1934 and the two married five years later, unbeknownst to their parents. He moved to Rockville Centre in the early 1960s with Bobbie and two daughters and eventually moved to Sanibel Island, Fla.

Brauch owned and operated GEM Cleaners on North Village Avenue with his brother, John, from the mid-1950s until his retirement in 1978. He would often put “Let’s Talk Cleaning” advertisements in local newspapers that had a touch of humor in them. GEM also sponsored the village’s Little League teams starting in 1960.

He and Bobbie were married for 72 years before her passing in 2011.

He was very active in Rockville Centre Rotary Club and was the organization’s president from 1970-71. He received the Rotary Founders Award from the Sanibel/Captiva Florida Rotary Club in June 1997.

Brauch is predeceased by his son Allan and daughter Gail Elmore. He is survived by his daughter Georgia “Bunny” Painton; his grandchildren, Samantha Painton, Lynette McElroy, Charles Elmore and Nancy DiCeglio; and his great-grandchildren, Sarah and Connor Murtha and Gavin Elmore.