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Melvin J. Zweig, 91, one of the founders of Penn Camera Exchange, Washington, D.C., passed away on April 27. Zweig, along with his three brothers Oscar, Samuel, and the late Benson Zweig, bought the building and inventory of the bankrupt Ford Photo Supply on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., and renamed it Penn Camera Exchange in January 1953.

  Melvin Zweig attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech), received a degree in Metallurgic Engineering, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1938. Melvin was called up after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Among other duties he headed a team to develop armor piercing projectiles that could effectively pierce the thick armor of the German Panzer Tanks. His team successfully developed a tungsten-carbide projectile that would accomplish that goal. In August 1944, Zweig went to France to demonstrate the new projectiles to the Allied Command.  He remained in the Army Reserve after World War II and attained the rank of Colonel.

  After the war Zweig joined his father and brothers in the family pawnbroker business where, besides used product, new luggage and cameras were sold. The brothers’ new found expertise in photo equipment along with the burgeoning consumer photo business led to the founding of Penn Camera Exchange. Zweig also leveraged his contacts among the local pawnbroker community and built up a significant used photo equipment business which remains a cornerstone of the current business. During his career at Penn Camera, Zweig was known as a straight shooter who would wait on any customer and give his full attention to their needs.

  Zweig’s wife Kathryn passed away in 1995. He is survived by his three sons Mark, Steven, and Allen; eight grand children; and 12 great grand children. Son Steven and nephew Max Zweig along with grandsons Jeffrey and Brian continue to run Penn Camera which now has nine locations in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Md. metropolitan area.

  Memorial contributions in honor of Zweig may be made to the Jewish War Veteran’s of the United States of America, 1811 “R” St. N.W., Washington, DC 2009, (202) 265-6280, or the Hokie Spirit Fund, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, (800) 533-1144.