George W. Breckenridge Jr, who co-founded the Atlanta Antique Gallery in suburban Chamblee, Ga., died on November 4, as a result of heart failure. He was 68 years old.
Born November 17, 1939, in Harrisburg, Penn., he attended Fairleigh Dickinson University earning a BS in business. Early in his career, he worked as an electrical engineer for both Blaupunkt and Toko America, designing stereos for Ford and General Motors vehicles, as well as luxury cars, including Bugattis, Ferraris and Rolls-Royces. A talented young designer, he eventually went on to set up his own independent car stereo business, continuing his association with Blaupunkt.
George met his future wife, Tricia Jennings, and the couple were married October 21, 1967; they would live and work in several cities before relocating from Chicago to Atlanta in 1996.
At the time of their move to Atlanta, both George and Tricia were executives working in business and corporate development for KMC Telecom.
Always fond of antiques †particularly Art Deco designs of Bakelite and Catalin, and antique timepieces †George harbored a dream of owning a first-class antiques gallery. In 2002, he and Tricia, both retired from KMC Telecom, located a commercial building on Chamblee’s famed “Antiques Row” for that purpose. Completely restructuring the interior, they transformed the 11,000-square-foot building into a multi-dealer showcase gallery that opened on March 1, 2003.
Having been an early proponent of Internet technology, George enthusiastically immersed himself in the technological side of the gallery’s business, designing his own photography studio and developing a retail website for his dealers.
During the five years that George and Tricia owned and managed the Atlanta Antique Gallery, their business won numerous awards, including the title of Best Antique Shop in Atlanta seven times and Best Antique Jewelry Shop in Atlanta three times, from the Atlanta Journal Constitution . He was a member of the Chamblee Antique Dealers Association.
On August 15, 2008, George and Tricia sold the Atlanta Antique Gallery, staying on briefly as consultants. They had recently enjoyed a ten-day road trip, relaxing and antique-hunting with their best friends. George was looking forward to doing more of the same for the rest of his life.
George Breckenridge is survived by his wife of 41 years, Tricia Breckenridge; and his brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Annette Breckenridge of Hawthorne, N.J.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, www.americanheart.org . Condolences and tributes may be posted online at www.mem.com .
