Edward H. Gauer; Founder of Roos/Atkins Chain

Edward H. Gauer, 88, founder of the former Roos/Atkins clothing chain. A hatter in Danbury, Conn., when he was only a teen-ager, Gauer moved to California in 1929 and managed clothing stores in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He formed the Roos/Atkins chain in 1957 and expanded it to 51 stores before it merged with Genesco in 1967. After his retirement, Gauer developed a 5,600-acre cattle ranch with a winery called Vinwood Cellars in Sonoma County. On Tuesday in Palm Desert of emphysema.