Obituary

Floyd Gilbert Hair, beloved husband, father and friend, passed away on Saturday, April 20, 2002, after a brief illness, at the age of 94. Floyd was born on April 1, 1908, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Ira W. and Susan Hutchinson Hair.After graduating from High School in Fort Dodge, Floyd went to work for the YMCA and then as a delivery boy for Superior Hardware. This position gave him one of the thrills of his lifetime when he was asked to personally deliver a package to the President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge & his Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, who had their summer headquarters at Superior Central High School. They shook his hand and sealed his fate as a career retailer and salesman that lasted until his retirement at age 88.His employment began with the SS Kresge Company in 1929, and included sales and managerial positions with McClelland Stores throughout the Midwest from 1931 - 1936, Store Superintendent of G Sommers & Company in St. Paul, Minnesota from 1936 - 1942, and was a foreman for Ford Motor Company from 1942 - 1945. In 1945 he purchased the Marshall Avenue Variety Store in St Paul, which he owned until 1948, when he went to work for the National Federation of Independent Business. He was their District Sales Manager from 1948 - 1951 and Regional Sales Manager of a 6-state area from 1951 - 1957.In November 1929, Floyd married his high school sweetheart, Pauline Mae Lutz, who gave him moral support throughout his retailing years, moving from Iowa to Minnesota, Texas, Kansas and Missouri. In 1954, they left their Midwest roots and moved to California. While taking a Sunday drive, they came upon the town of Santa Paula, where Floyd said, “I felt as if I were coming home”. Pauline shared this feeling and they moved to Santa Paula.After settling in Santa Paula, Floyd decided to leave the National Federation of Independent Business and sell real estate. He worked for George Caldwell’s real estate firm for 3-1/2 years and then formed his own real estate company, Floyd G Hair Realty, which he owned and operated from 1957 - 1976. In 1976, he sold the firm which then became Cal West, where he stayed until his retirement in 1996.In addition to his business life, Floyd was very community minded and active in many local organizations. He was Vice President of the Kiwanis Club in 1956, served one term as a Santa Paula City Councilman from 1960 - 1964, was a member of the Chamber of Commerce where he served as President in 1968 and was named the Chamber’s Citizen of the Year in 1978, held membership in The Rotary Club from 1963 - 2002, and was a recipient of Rotary’s Paul Harris Award, twice served as President of the Santa Paula Board of Realtors, was a Co-Founder and Vice President of the Santa Paula Community Fund which was founded for the purpose of saving and restoring the Santa Paula Depot, and past President of the Methodist Men. Besides these activities, he was the author of a weekly column for the Santa Paula (Times) Chronicle and of the published book, Middle American, An Autobiography by Floyd G. Hair, for which he received a “Salute to Distinguished Seniors (Business) Award”, presented by the Buenaventura Interface Volunteer Caregivers Organization on January 25, 1992. This book originally began as a personal family history intended for his children, but also became a Santa Paula civics lesson in the process. Though it was never a commercial success, it was a source of pride to Floyd and his family.Floyd was preceded in death by his infant daughter, Wendy Lu Hair, who died in 1947 at the age of 4 months, his parents and nine siblings.