When Lois Green closes the doors of University Jewelers on March 31, Penn and University City will lose a store that has been a fixture in the area for more than 70 years.
Green is retiring after having owned the store, currently sandwiched in a tiny storefront between the GAP and Modern Eye near 34th and Walnut streets, since 1985.
Her husband, Fred Green, was co-owner until his death in 2002.
When the Greens first took over University Jewelers, the store was located in a building on 38th Street that was later demolished to make way for Huntsman Hall. It moved to its current location in 1997.
They purchased the store from another family - a father and his sons.
Ever since, Green and her husband have sold jewelry to students and employees at Penn and the area hospitals, while at times having a contentious relationship with the University.
Every "Christmas and Valentine's day, [Fred Green would] have a following of young male students needing gifts," Lois Green said.
But Lois and Fred didn't just help clueless young lovers. Assistant Director of Penn Relays Gail Zachary said she is also sad to see University Jewelers go.
"You always knew you were getting a quality product," she said. "I always felt I was treated the same way and [in a] great way all the time."
Karlene Burrell-McRae, director of the Makuu Black Cultural Center, has patronized University Jewelers since she arrived at Penn just over a decade ago.
While patrons said the Greens were famous for their charitable and encouraging natures, the couple was also assertive when they needed to be. They survived business relocations and a sometimes-bitter fight with Penn real estate officials.
In 1997, Penn asked the Greens to sign a lease for the 3401 Walnut St. property that would have given the University the right to relocate the store arbitrarily after its move.
The Greens rejected the agreement and broke confidential discussions with the University by airing their case in The Daily Pennsylvanian, eventually coming to a compromise and signing a new lease.
Lois Green will let her current lease expire. Since her husband passed away, it's been "really hard," she said.
She's taken over more of the operations since his death, but Fred Green was the top repairman.
Now, Lois Green plans to continue engraving jewelry and other objects from her home, adding that she has plans to travel to Detroit, San Francisco and Chicago.
While Burrell-McRae appreciated the store, saying she hoped there would be another in its place, Lois and Fred kept her coming back.
"Ms. Lois taught you how to wear jewelry well," she said, adding that Fred Green was "gentle and sweet," with a "quirky, quirky sense of humor."
She said she hoped another jewelry store would come to the area, but added, "I'm not sure they'll have another Lois Green."
