Menu
Search by Name
Search by Name
EGON FIRESIDE Obituary
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for EGON FIRESIDE
4 Entries
Victoria Card
June 27, 2020
During this time under "house arrest"...I have noticed that I have spent time thinking about people and places from my past.
Yesterday I posted about GNC declaring bankruptcy...and I suddenly started thinking about my first business which was a Natural Food Store on Chestnut Street in San Francisco...I only owned it for 4.5 years, and sold it to a customer...who later sold it to a Chinese man, who later sold it to GNC.
But what I really remembered were the people who were my customers. It was a mixed bag of people...It was from 1981 - 1985...during the Aids epidemic. I was 26 and as usual for me, my favorite customers were always much older. There was an older woman who would come in every day...she would purchase items for her and her husband's dinner. After some time she told me she and her husband owned the "camera store" almost across the street from my business. The business was called "Fireside Camera"...She then asked me to call her "Lucy"...and slowly Lucy started telling me the story of her and her husband, and how they came to SF and opened their business. They both fled Vienna as Jews during the war, and went to Shanghai for safety. From there they left for Bolivia where they had their two young sons...and quite by chance on their way to Canada they stopped in SF, and knew from that minute... SF was where they were supposed to be.
Fireside Camera first started out as a photography studio, her husband Egon was a wonderful portrait photographer...and would do wedding photography. Lucy would assist doing the young bride's makeup.
I met her husband, Egon. They were such a nice couple.
One day Lucy came in and told me she and her husband wanted to do a portrait of me...Would I be willing to have my picture taken? I agreed, and one early afternoon Egon picked me up and drove me to the Presidio of SF where he had me "pose".
They put that portrait in their showroom window...and I remember my customers coming in asking if that was me...and I particularly remember one woman asking if they had "touched it up"??! I told Lucy that...and she was irritated and told me to tell her ...NO touch ups!!
After my business was sold, I did not see Lucy very often. I would run into her on Chestnut Street and she would ask me what I was doing...was I going to open another business?
Time passed, and one day I dropped in on them at Fireside Camera...Lucy was so happy to see me! Then she asked me if I would make a point of going to see Egon in his office at the back of their business to say "Hello". She told me he had been very depressed...their two sons who were now men, had both died within a week of each other. I can remember going to his office to say "Hello"...He sat there...BUT he was NOT there...he was somewhere far away. I felt terrible. His happy smiling persona had been replaced by a man suffering from grief. I honestly did NOT know what to say to him, and I think about that now.
NOT knowing what to say to someone who is overwhelmed with grief. I just remember hugging him, and telling him I hoped he would be well.
I never saw them again. But I still remember how they made me feel, and the story of their life they shared with me. The odds they overcame to settle in San Francisco, establish and grow their business, become successful, and then lose their two sons within a week of each other.
Victoria Card
June 27, 2020
Steve Franco
May 14, 2012
Egon was an astute business man and a true gentleman. We were competitors in the retail Photographic Industry and yet always friendly and ran his business the proper way. They don't make them like that anymore. My condolences to all of his family.
Steve Franco (Discount Camera)
Frank & Trixie Wachsner
May 13, 2012
eGON WAS MY OLDEST AND DEAREST FRIEND. wE MET IN 1939 ON THE SHIP cHENANCEAU ON THE WAY TO sHANGHAI. hE TOOK OUR WEDDING ICTURES THERE IN L946 AND WE REMAINED CLOSE. tRIXIE'S PARENTS IN vANCOUVER HELPED HIM REAIN HIS HEALTH AND TRIXIE AND i WILL MISS HIM dORIS sCHEUER IN pALM sPRINGS BECAME HIS DEAR COMPANION AND FRIEND-tRIXIE INTRODUCED THEM. oUR LOVE AND SYMPANTHY TO THE FAMILY. FRANK AND TRIXIE WACHSNER, TERRY,TIM AND TRACY.
How you can show support
Follow
Get email updates whenever changes are made.
Send flowers
Consider sending flowers.
Add photos
Share their life with photo memories.
Plant trees
Honor them by planting trees in their memory.
Donate in Memory
Make a donation in memory of your loved one.
Share this page
Invite other friends and family to visit the page.
Showing 1 - 4 of 4 results
Make a Donation
in EGON FIRESIDE's name
Please consider a donation as requested by the family.
Memorial Events
for EGON FIRESIDE
People and places connected with EGON
Recent Obituaries
How to support EGON's loved ones
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read more
Resources to help you cope with loss
How to Cope With Grief
Information and advice to help you cope with the death of someone important to you.
Read more
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read moreWays to honor EGON FIRESIDE's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
