Larry Hasson:LARRY HASSON, who has died aged 101, was one of Derry's most charming elder statesmen whose vitality and love of business, sport and music embodied the spirit that has helped make the city what it is today.
As chairman of Austins – Derry’s landmark department store for more than 35 years – he was a well-known and highly regarded business figure far beyond the city’s famous walls.
A lifelong Derry City football fan he was also a world-class singer who early in his career was offered the opportunity to take up the role as principal tenor with La Scala Opera House in Milan.
Since the 1930s he was a regular performer on BBC Radio and Radio Éireann and had built up quite a following.
With his singing career taking off in earnest he had travelled to Rome where he was spotted by a talent scout from La Scala.
But faced with the prospect of turning his back on his business ambitions once and for all; and with the responsibilities of a wife and three young children, Hasson decided to return to Derry.
Although he came from what his family today describes as “humble beginnings” he had always wanted to own his own business. His wife, Nellie, shared these ambitions and although he continued to sing professionally, together they worked hard to open their first store – Hasson’s – on Carlisle Road in 1956.
They gradually built up the business, opening three stores throughout the years and moving in to the equivalent then of Derry’s high street on Ferryquay Street.
By the mid-1970s Derry was caught up in the worst of the Troubles and Hasson’s did not escape.
It was the target of frequent bomb scares and quite often not just scares. But according to Hasson’s son Luke: “It never bothered him.” He always passionately believed in Derry and its future.
In 1976, a business opportunity presented itself which Hasson could not ignore, and the department store Austins, a landmark in Derry since 1830, came under Hasson ownership.
He claimed it was his greatest business achievement and never for a moment regretted turning down the chance to grace the stage of La Scala.
Instead, Austins’ grand five- storey Edwardian building with its intriguing mix of, columns, pedestals, balconies and copper-roofed cupola became his latter-day theatre.
He was never happier than when he was out on the shop floor chatting to customers enjoying getting to know each generation in turn.
He never formally retired and continued to go to work in Austins past his 100th birthday while also taking time out to make regular visits to the North West Golf Club where he was an enthusiastic member.
His corner office in Austins, from which he enjoyed a panoramic view of Derry, also revealed another side of the man described by SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan as a “landmark character in the city”. On the walls were scores of photographs of Hasson and many of the famous faces he had met down the years.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and her husband Bill, rub shoulders with Maureen O’Hara and American boxer Jack Dempsey on his office wall.
President Mary McAleese, John Hume and Gabriel Byrne also vie for attention with what was his own particular favourite photograph with astronaut Neil Armstrong.
He never lost his love of music, particularly opera, and went on to record a number of albums and a DVD later in life.
But it was the soundtrack to his life for which Hasson will be remembered, as Fr Eamon Graham, who officiated at his requiem Mass in Derry highlighted.
“The life of Larry has weaved a golden thread of goodness throughout our city,” Fr Graham said.
Hasson’s wife Nellie predeceased him in July 1991.
He is survived by his sons Luke, Paul and Declan and his daughter Ann.
Larry Hasson: born, February 28th, 1910; died August 31st, 2011