‘He gave us all his time and wisdom’
Patriarch of Brookfield tea shop, Jim Harron, dies
“He was a fun person to be with, he could talk to anybody.” Joan Harron on her husband James “Jim” Harron, Sr.
BROOKFIELD — James “Jim” Harron, Sr. loved reading the obituaries in the morning paper. They were always the first thing he flipped to. He’d read them intently before moving on to the crossword puzzles, where he’d spread out a dictionary — sometimes two— and get to work. He loved learning about history, people’s lives and their accomplishments.
“Have you found your name in there yet?” his wife of 59 years, Joan, would joke each morning. It was a longstanding shtick between the couple.
In the months before his death, Jim Harron Sr. began writing little drafts of his own obituary. When he died peacefully at home on Jan. 18, his family found one of the last drafts. It remained unfinished.
“After years of checking, this is my first day not checking the obits. So, if you’re reading this ‘I made it.’ I hit 85 this past December and life has been quite a ride. I say goodbye and thank you to all,” it said.
The inimitable patriarch of Simpson & Vail, a family-owned tea and coffee business based in Brookfield, made sure to leave everything in order, down to his final words. He knew what he wanted his obituary to say, and wrote it down to make it easier for the loved ones he left behind.
Harron, a man remembered for his wonderful storytelling and wealth of knowledge, wrote simply and eloquently about what mattered most to him.
“The best part of my life was my family. I’m survived by my wife, Joan (the love of my life), who has loved me for 59 years and is easily defined as a saint.”
The couple was to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They met when Joan was filling in as head nurse at the hospital in White Plains, N.Y. where Harron was undergoing a surgical procedure. After a second visit thanks to an undiagnosed penicillin allergy, he asked Joan out on a date. A few short months later, they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
Harron also leaves behind his four children — Jim, Peter, Cyndi and Timothy — two grandchildren, brother Thomas, and many nieces and nephews.
“Jim lived life on his own terms. He lived to the fullest, he laughed often, he shuffled along spreading good cheer,” his family wrote. “We think his biggest achievement in life was making everyone feel happy to have spoken with him.”
A vibrant life
Harron was born on Dec. 3, 1936, in Chicago to Raymond and Lillian Harron. He was raised in White Plains, N.Y., with his three brothers, Raymond, Ronald and Thomas, and attended St. Bernard’s Grammar School and Archbishop Stepinac High School where he graduated with the Class of 1954. Harron then studies at St. Bonaventure University in Olean, N.Y., graduating in 1958.
His family counts three distinct careers in Harron’s life. The first was in the newspaper industry, where he worked in advertising for the Portchester Daily Item, Greenwich Time and with the New York Journal American.
After his time in the world of newspapers, he transitioned to a career in textiles where he worked with companies like Cannon Mills, Martex, WestPoint Pepperell, Bibb Manufacturing and Wamsutta Pacific, his family said. During this time, he met Bill Frederick, “a mountain of a man,” and Richard Brown, his “brother” and friend.
But with four kids at home and the textile industry’s demanding travel schedule, Harron decided to make a change. Career No. 3 would be the one he was best known for, and the one that would create his legacy in Brookfield and in business.
The couple bought Simpson & Vail, one of the oldest purveyors of fine teas from across the globe, in the 1970s and the family has owned it ever since. From its original spot in downtown Manhattan, the business moved to Pleasantville, NY, and finally, to Brookfield. For more than 40 years, the couple worked side by side, recruiting the help of their four children from time to time.
Two of Harron’s children, Jim and Cyndi Harron, eventually returned to Brookfield to own and operate the store.
By all accounts, Jim Harron Sr. put his life and soul into his work. He was a skilled salesman who developed a deep knowledge of tea and its history. He was a man who was dedicated to his work and customers. The couple lived above their Brookfield store, and well into retirement, he still came downstairs to chat with customers and employees. He did this up through Christmas.
“He was a fun person to be with, he could talk to anybody,” Joan Harron said.
In an article from 2009, the News-Times reported that “listening to Jim Harron Sr., 73, rattle off different names, blends and varieties of teas is much like listening to another language -- rooibos, oolong, Darjeeling, tamaryokucha. And chatting with him about the history of tea will transport you to exotic and faraway places in Japan, Ceylon, Kenya and Bolivia.”
The couple’s eldest son, Jim, was amazed that his father could still tell stories he’d never heard up until the end of his life. Although he was in his 80s, he stayed sharp, the son said.
Age did not slow Jim Harron Sr. down. Until recently, he was out running errands, picking up his Wednesday lottery tickets, visiting the post office, or buying his wife flowers at Stop & Shop.
Just when Joan Harron would begin to worry that her husband had been out for a long time, he’d show up with colorful bouquet, she said.
“Being in textiles, he had a great sense of color,” she recalled.
Connection with others
Jim Harron Sr. had a knack for connecting deeply with people. This was evident not only from the customers who returned time and again to the store, but also from the mass of emails and remembrances written to the family in the wake of his death.
One couple came in just after his passing, asking for Jim Harron Sr.. The man, who visited the store for the first time around Christmas had hit it off with Harron and was crestfallen to hear he had passed, Cyndi Harron said. He had brought his wife along that day just to meet him.
Joan Harron often observed him chatting with customers for half an hour or longer.
His son Peter Harron said he’d miss his father’s sense of humor.
“He was quick, he was witty,” Jim Harron Jr. said. “He’d come out with one liners.”
Jim Harron Sr.’s warmth made people feel like they were family, his family said. This was evidenced by the hundred stories and condolences on the social media post from people who knew him around town.
“What a courtly and charming gentleman. We talked about Burlington Vermont where my daughter was attending college. I still remember that lovely conversation,” one woman commented on the company’s Facebook post announcing his death.
“I remember one of my first visits to the store, Jim noticed my sweatshirt and we wound up having a long, in-depth discussion of Notre Dame football and marching bands,” another wrote.
Some wrote about the teas he had introduced them to, about his gentlemanly presence, or the conversations and stories he shared.
“He was a warm man who seemed never to be in a hurry. He gave us all his time and wisdom,” Alexis Kaiser wrote to the family.
“I loved coming into the shop and chatting with Jim. I always left the shop thinking, ‘what a happy man and happy place this is.’ And I felt blessed to have it in my community,” Julie Peterson wrote to the family.
One customer said they would toast his memory with a cup of Victorian Earl Gray.
Cyndi Harron said she’s still trying to make her way through all the notes they’ve received.
She recalled how his quiet presence commanded attention in every room he entered.
“He would light up a room, he had a twinkle in his eye,” she said. “Everybody just wanted his opinion about things.”
Jim Harron Sr. had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, loved to travel, and proclaimed that he “enjoyed, but never mastered, the game of golf.” The couple went on frequent weekend golfing excursions, exploring courses all around the area.
“You could talk to him about anything. Politics, sports, business— that guy knew everything about everything,” his son Peter Harron said.
Joan Harron said she would miss the companionship of her best friend.
The family is planning a small service at Our Lady of the Lakes in New Milford, at10 a.m. Friday. The family plans to hold a “big bash to celebrate his amazing personality and zest for life” this summer.