I heard an odd story on talk radio here in Milwaukee yesterday. Mark Belling had a segment on his afternoon show about an article that appeared in Saturday’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The article talked about a local furniture store by the name of Dinesen’s Leather Only. The store is well-known for its commercials on local television. The owner Frits Dinesen was a staple in them with the line, “Once you visit us, you’ll wish you found us sooner.”

It seems that Mr. Dinesen died six months ago. The odd part to the story is that they are continuing to run ads with him in them. His wife Lynn says she is not keeping the death a secret. Employees were told that they could confirm that he had died if someone brought it up, but they were not to volunteer the information. “Our store is small. If people knew Frits died, they may think the store is going to close,” his widow said.

The whole thing is a bit weird. Why would people assume the store was going to close? Businesses continue to operate with the owner’s name after he has passed away. I would say the commercials are almost deceptive by continuing to show him pitching for the store.

Like I said, it is a bit weird.