BYE TO A ‘VISIONARY’
Wife’s tribute at funeral of Golden Krust franchise mogul
THE WIDOW OF Golden Krust founder Lowell Hawthorne broke her silence at his massive funeral in Brooklyn on Tuesday, writing that his shocking suicide left her family heartbroken and grasping for answers.
Lorna Hawthorne called her husband a “phenomenal extraordinaire” as she shared her first personal sentiments in a tribute on the back of a 45-page printed program.
“My husband was a visionary, a dreamer, a motivator, a courageous and compassionate person,” she said in the message to the more than 4,500 mourners who packed the Christian Cultural Center to capacity.
“You were my confidant, a faithful and loving husband, the greatest dad our children could ever wish for and a tower of strength to our family,” she said.
“Though you left us with many tears and questions, we must continue our life and will see you in paradise,” she wrote.
The Jamaica-born meat pie mogul, 57, shot himself in the head Dec. 2 inside his Golden Krust factory in the Bronx. Police found the gun and a note, but authorities did not reveal what the message said. Two former employees filed a proposed class action lawsuit days later, saying the company failed to pay them overtime wages. Hawthorne was already facing a different overtime lawsuit and significant tax debt when he died, sources said.
One of his four children seemed to allude to the growing work stress in his eulogy.
“You are now in eternal peace. Fret no more,” son Haywood Hawthorne, a vice president at Golden Krust, told the crowd.
Hawthorne’s daughter choked back tears as she described losing her “best friend.” “For anyone who knows me, you know my dad was my first love,” Monique Hawthorne said from the stage. “As a fatherdaughter duo, we fit together quite well. He was the yin to my yang.”
Hawthorne’s two other sons also gave eulogies, with one voicing the family's shock over the unexpected tragedy.
“I always knew the day would come when I would have to write this tribute. While I didn’t expect the day to come this early,” son Darren Hawthorne said.
“Through us, we will keep his hope alive — the man who could make any room chuckle and laugh,” his son Omar Hawthorne said. Hawthorne personified the American rags-to-riches dream, immigrating to the U.S. at age 21, opening his first Golden Krust store on East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx less than a decade later in 1989 and reportedly becoming the first Caribbeanowned business to be granted a franchise license.
He went on to build the beefpatty purveyor into a national name with more than 120 restaurants in nine states.