George Rich.
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NEW YORK—George Rich, founder and president of Starline Optical Corporation, one of America’s first direct-sales frame companies, and the firm which introduced Safilo eyewear to the U.S., died at his home here, on Aug. 5 at the age of 83. The cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease and Aphasia.

Rich was an eyewear industry pioneer. He established Starline Optical in 1962 in New York, bringing in Italian-made eyewear, selling direct to eyecare professionals. In 1974, Starline and Safilo brought the first Safilo Elasta hinge to the U.S., and in 1977, Rich moved Starline Optical to new offices in Fairfield, N.J., forming a joint venture with Safilo. Safilo then assumed full ownership of the company, creating a wholly owned subsidiary, which became Safilo USA in 1988.

Rich was one of the eyewear executives involved in the founding of OptiFair, the precursor to International Vision Expo, and took part in a range of industry-focused initiatives, organizations and activities. Recalls Dick Russo, a former Safilo USA senior executive, now an industry consultant, and a longtime colleague and friend of Rich’s, “George was the heart and soul of Starline Optical and contributed so much to the industry over the years. He was a terrific leader, mentor and inspiration to all who worked with him. We remember him fondly.”

Rich was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1931. In 1949, after surviving the Holocaust and World War II in Budapest, he escaped from communist Hungary to Austria, where he lived in a Displaced Persons Camp run by the JDC for three years. In 1954 he immigrated to the U.S., where he served in the U.S. Army at Camp Kilmer as an interpreter for Hungarian refugees. George, and his wife, Martha, who predeceased him, were active in many Jewish charities, including as founding members and benefactors of the Education Division of the Museum of Jewish Heritage –A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City, Metro-West of New Jersey and Eternal Flame of New Jersey.

After his many years as president of Starline, Rich served on the board and became chairman of Eastern Europe for the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), an organization that was particularly meaningful for him. Rich was also instrumental in the erection of a Raoul Wallenberg statue in Parsippany, N.J. He credited Wallenberg with saving the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews, including his own, in the last hours of the liquidation of the Budapest ghetto. Despite the fact that his formal education was interrupted by the war, he was a self-educated man who read widely on history, politics and current events and was always interested in engaging his friends in lively political debate. As a young man he studied classical piano, which left him with a life-long love of classical music and jazz. He was a fixture at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in Manhattan.

Rich is survived by his four children: Michael, Diane, Monica and Irina, their spouses Kathleen, Robert and Rod; his six grandchildren, Jason and his wife Rachel, Danielle and her husband Seth, Daniel, Laura, Marc and Julia, and his great grandson, Jake.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be sent to Eternal Flame, or via check to Eternal Flame 100 Overlook Drive Woodcliff Lake, N.J. 07677. More info about the organization is also on the organization’s Facebook page. Eternal Flame is a project of the George and Martha Rich Foundation.