NORTHAMPTON — This St. Patrick’s Day, a Florence icon died.
For the past few years Tim Shea, 84, lived full-time in Florida. But there is no question what spot on the globe he chose to devote himself to.
“Everybody knew him,” said Mike Flynn, who owns Florence Barber Shop. He has rented from Shea for about 25 years, and has known him for around 40.
“I think he was a staunch supporter of downtown Florence,” said Robert Ross, a board member of the Florence Civic and Business Association.
“It was great to run into him,” said Ward 5 Councilor David Murphy.
“He had this protective idea about Florence,” said Ed Shanahan, a former Gazette editor who used to have Shea as a landlord when he owned the Bookends book store, in the Parsons Block.
Steve Shea, his youngest son, said that at one time his father owned nearly every building in the center of Florence, although at the time of his death his Florence holdings consisted chiefly of the Parsons Block building, which contains the iconic Bird’s Store, and the Goodwin Block building, which contains the post office.
Besides Steve, Shea had sons Tim and Michael and a daughter named Virginia. He and his wife, Virginia, were divorced many years ago.
In addition to being a major property owner, Shea was also something rarer than a blue moon or perhaps even a unicorn: a beloved landlord.
“You couldn’t find a better landlord,” said Flynn.
“He was very good,” said Shanahan.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better one,” said Mary Clark, the owner of Florence Village Flowers, who has rented from Shea for almost 30 years.
Ross said Shea held his rents down so that his tenants could stay, noting that he “wanted the character of Florence to remain intact.”
This was confirmed by Shea’s tenants.
“He kept his rent very low,” said Shanahan.
“He always had low rents,” said Clark.
Indeed, Judith Prevost, who has rented the space that is now the home office for her business, Magical Winds Center for the Healing Arts, since 1998, said he hadn’t raised her rent since she moved, citing all the landscaping work she did around the building.
It was also noted that there were no security deposits or leases with Shea.
“No one had leases,” said Shanahan.
“He’s loyal to people,” said Steve Shea, on his father’s rental practices.
He also noted a quote from his grandfather that said that people “need to work for something more than paying the landlord,” and that his father had the resources to keep things affordable for his tenants.
Steve Shea said this generosity was also evident with his great-grandfather, who immigrated from Ireland with his wife at 16, became a Bridgeport, Connecticut, police officer, and sponsored at least one family to come to the United States.
Shea’s practices also clearly had an effect on Florence.
“A lot of these businesses probably wouldn’t last downtown,” noted Flynn.
Clark said Shea was concerned about small businesses and interested in their success.
“He was a big help,” she said.
“If you had questions about business you could often ask him,” said Prevost.
Ross noted that Shea gave numerous donations to the Florence Civic and Business Association, and once served as its vice president.
Shanahan said Flynn was protective of his tenants, and would not rent to businesses that would compete with them.
“He thought a lot about the community, he cared about it,” said Mary Clark.
Steve Shea also noted that his father was loyal to his employees, several of whom worked alongside his father for decades. They included Roger Hewes, Roger Gagne and Jack Bourgeois.
A number of people also commented about Shea’s sharp sense of dress, which included suits, ties, button-down shirts and soft hats.
“Last of the real, old-time businessmen,” said Flynn.
“That’s just how he always dressed,” said Steve Shea.
Indeed, he said he never saw his father dress in soft shoes, and he even wore formal clothing to the beach.
“It was a way of giving respect to his customers,” said Shea.
That was an assessment Shanahan agreed with.
“He was going to work,” said Shanahan. “He presented himself as a businessman.”
Shanahan also noted that Shea was a lively and opinionated conversationalist.
“He would tell you exactly what he felt,” said Shanahan, who noted that Shea had libertarian viewpoints and wasn’t a fan of social service agencies buying property in Florence.
Flynn, who said he is more on the liberal side, also noted Shea’s libertarianism and said they’d had political discussions where they hadn’t seen eye to eye, although he noted that these were not arguments.
“I certainly respected his opinions,” said Flynn.
Shanahan noted Shea’s depth as a man, something that was also remarked on by Samantha Ross.
“Very knowledgeable man,” she said, saying that she always set aside at least 45 minutes with him when she’d go to talk with him at Doyle’s.
Steve Shea said his grandparents moved to Florence after purchasing Bird’s Store in 1943. His grandfather, also named Tim Shea, was a former Woolworth’s manager, and did a lengthy search for a business to acquire. Indeed, he rented a house across the street from Bird’s Store so he could survey it.
Tim and his brother Robert grew up in Florence doing odd jobs at Bird’s Store, such as putting together newspapers and making ice cream.
“It was a great place to go as a grammar school kid,” said Murphy.
Both then joined the military, with Shea serving in the Air Force in the Strategic Air Command, retiring as a senior master sergeant. Steve Shea noted that his father spent the entirety of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Strategic Air Command bunker in Hadley.
Shea spent a good chunk of his Air Force service stationed in Spain, and Shanahan recalled that he spoke perfect Spanish with a Castellano accent.
Steve Shea said his father left the military in 1974 and took over Bird’s Store from his grandparents. Later on he ran a laundromat and Doyle’s Package Store. Shea would sell the store in the 1990s, but he remained its landlord. He also continued to run Doyle’s Package Store until his retirement to Florida, which Steve Shea said was around 2011. Steve Shea then took over running of Doyle’s and the managing of the Florence properties.
“My father was never one to look back in life,” said Shea.
He noted that this was the case with both his military career, which he didn’t talk about much, and with his business career, noting how his father had embraced retired life in the Sunshine State.
Shea died of complications from acute respiratory distress syndrome following a few weeks of hospitalization in an otherwise healthy life. There will be a small family ceremony in Florida as well as a memorial in Florence, Steve Shea said. No date for either has been set.
“It’s a great loss for Florence,” said Prevost.
Prevost said Shea was her friend in addition to being her landlord, and she noted that he had written a recommendation for her to go to massage school. “He said at one time he considered me family,” she said.
As for the impact of Shea’s loss on Florence as a whole, Flynn was unequivocal about its significance.
“ It’s gonna leave a hole,” said Flynn. “It’s gonna leave a hole the size of the Grand Canyon.”