Harry Modell

Harry Modell, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, confidant, bon vivant and the last of a generation of sportsmen, kibitzers and wags died last week at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was surrounded by his two children, his granddaughter and his close friend. He was 89. For the last part of his life, Modell, a Detroiter by birth - and his late wife, Trudy, who died in 1998 - split their time between Aspen, Colorado and Scottsdale. In both places, Modell played tennis, golf and backgammon, and sociable by nature, made new friends, preferably, he used to joke, with people who could drive at night. When he was 75, he learned to ski skate from his son, Andy, who lives in Aspen. A discriminating eater and drinker, Modell, who owned Mohawk Liquor in Detroit, loved a perfect Manhattan, dry martini, a good brisket, an ample plate of frog legs and a hot cup of coffee. But mainly he liked a good time, schmoozing in Detroit's London Chop House, playing pool and eating hamburgers at the Red Balloon in Detroit, deciding which Jaguar to add to his collection or playing tricks on the counselors at Camp Strongheart in Minocqua, Wisconsin. He was a dapper dresser, preferring custom made clothes by Eldon Genrous, a tailor in Birmingham, Michigan. The suits would include his trademark ticket pocket, 15-inch side vents, a pocket square scrunched into the pocket and a vest. He loved wearing argyle socks with plaid pants, an ascot on Sunday and a tweed cap. But for fancy dinner parties at his house in Scottsdale or Aspen, it wouldn't be out of character for Modell to show up in jeans, a t-shirt with a yellow smiley-face and a black longhaired wig. An Army veteran of World War II, he was quick-witted, generous, thoughtful and well read. Towards the end of his life he was still configuring complicated formulas for buying stocks, counting the days he could get back on the golf course and telling corny, PG-13 jokes. The son of Celia and Joseph Modell, Modell had a brother, Saul, who passed away. He leaves behind sisters Rose Fishman, Joan Kalt and Mildred Kaplan; a daughter and son-in-law, Maggie Citrin and Richard Culbert, Vancouver, Canada; son Andy Modell; granddaughter, Ana Citrin; five nephews, three nieces and scores of friends.