Frank H. Kean III, the former head of Kean's Fine Dry Cleaning, died Friday morning. He was 87.
Kean took over his family dry cleaning business in 1968, leading it into its 7th decade and beyond. Kean's grandfather and grand-uncle founded the business in a Government Street building in 1900, cleaning LSU students' collars. Kean led the business for 40 years, introducing new services like one-hour cleaning and becoming the 16th largest privately-owned company in Baton Rouge by the mid-1980s.
He sold the business to Gerard G. "Rock" Rockenbaugh Jr. and retired in 2003 after "living and breathing" the company for 40 years, he told The Advocate in 2003.
"Am I sentimental? Hell yes," Kean said in 2003. "I feel like I just sold my child."
Kean also engaged in charity work throughout his ca