Deceased June 7, 2019
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In Memory
My dear friend and classmate Dick Hauser made our remaining circle of friends a lot smaller with his untimely passing on June 6, 2019.
Dick came to Amherst from Great Neck High School on Long Island where, among other accomplishments, he was valedictorian of his class. At Amherst he was likewise an outstanding student, a Phi Gam, majored in history and graduated magna cum laude. He received an M.B.A. from Columbia (also magna) and went on to become one of the outstanding retail executives in the United States.
His very first job was at Bloomingdale’s in New York, where he rose rapidly to executive vice president. Then, in succession, he became president of the Broadway in Southern California, CEO of Neiman Marcus in Dallas and, at age 43, CEO and chairman of John Wanamaker in Philadelphia. He retired 20 years later in 1999.
He married his high school sweetheart, Joan Goldberg, two months after graduation and they were happily together for 61 years until her death last year. They had three children, Jonathan, Betsy Abernathy ’83 and Andrew, plus six grandchildren.
He maintained homes in Northport, N.Y., and Oak Ridge, Tenn. Dick was an avid skier, mostly in Stowe, Vt., where our families vacationed together for 40 years.
He and I met as freshmen in Morrow. I was in his wedding, and we remained closest friends for 65 years.
Dick was truly one of the best guys in the western world, and his family and many, many friends will miss him greatly.
Steve McGeeney ’56