PENN TWP — Robert Greenberger was in his late 20s when he started working at the family business in Sharon — a discount house that had been founded shortly after World War II by his father and uncle.

The store, Warehouse Sales, sold everything from automotive parts to toys. And though the business' name and location would change — and the company grow ferociously — through the years, what is proudly called “the Greenberger Way,” never would.

“He had a good business mind, a lot of good ideas, and he let his managers do what they thought was best a lot of times for their own stores,” said Greenberger's younger brother, George.

“I think he knew and understood his customers. The thing he enjoyed most of all was the thrill of finding new locations and opening new stores and then making them successful.”

Robert “Bob” Greenberger, 79, of Penn Township died at 6:05 p.m. Thursday at his home. He leaves behind his wife, Judy; a son, Harry, who lives in New York City and works in music and film entertainment; and a daughter, Leah, who is a veterinarian in Massachusetts.

Judy Greenberger called her husband a gentle and forgiving person who cultivated fierce loyalty among his employees. Even as the company announced its closure earlier this year, she said, many employees began to sport shirts calling Trader Horn their favorite job — something she said touched her heart and her husband's.

“He looked to find compromise so that people could work together as a team,” she said. “He forgave. He was a person who found a way out of conflict by compromise.”

Greenberger, who many described as a quiet, intelligent and unassuming man, spent decades building a hyper-localized empire of discount stores and making the name Trader Horn synonymous with unique and hard-to-find merchandise.

“His vision was always customer service,” said Tom Marlowe of Harmony, who spent 48 years working for the company and managed its stores in Penn Township, Wexford and Ellwood City. At its peak in 2007, Trader Horn had 11 stores.

“Really, our charge as time went on was to make the stores fit the neighborhood,” Marlowe said. “Each community is a little different (and) we literally did have stores five miles apart that sold different products because of the neighborhood.”

That hyper-local focus infused Greenberger's life as well, not just his business. Marlowe can remember visiting Greenberger's office, where the sign on his desk didn't read “President” or “Owner”; it said “What'shisname.”

“To me it was more like having a big brother,” he said of his relationship with Greenberger. “He sort of made everybody feel like it was their store. He had that unique ability to make you feel like your opinion and your personal lives mattered to him. I think he genuinely cared about the lives of his staff.”

George Greenberger called his brother a studious man — Bob had a master's degree in Political Science — who loved his family deeply and loved the peace and quiet of Sandbridge, Va., where they would often vacation together.

“He loved the ocean; the peace, the quiet,” George Greenberger said. “He was a very intelligent man and an avid reader.”

Despite the brothers being 10 years apart, they were always close with each other and with their sister, Hannah, George Greenberger said.

Even those who knew Robert socially felt that love of family from Greenberger.

“He was a very quiet man, a very good man, and obviously a very astute businessman,” said Larry Berg, who knew Greenberger as a member of Congregation B'nai Abraham in Butler.

“He just very quietly went about the business of running that big business of his,” Berg said. “He was unassuming. He never talked about himself.”

Robert Greenberger's health issues spurred the decision this year to close down Trader Horn stores after six decades. The company told its 200 employees about the closure in January, and publicly announced the decision in February.

The business has seven stores in Prospect, Butler Township, Eau Claire, Ellwood City, Clarion and Kittanning, as well as a store, a warehouse and its administrative offices on Route 8 in Penn Township.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorial contributions be made to the Community Health Center of Butler County.

Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Butler, is handling funeral arrangements.