My first real high end customer died last week

[Scottwax]

His son called me this afternoon to let me know. Not sure what the cause of death was but he hadn`t been in great health for a long time. Owned a bunch of topless clubs mostly in Arlington and Fort Worth. He was my first really big customer (started detailing his cars in 1994), has had Rolls, Bentleys, Lamborghini`s, Mercedes, Escalades and full sized Motor Coaches. Gave me some good business advice early on.



God Speed, Harry.



Harry Floyd Freeman Obituary: View Harry Freeman`s Obituary by Star-Telegram (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dfw/obituary.aspx?n=harry-floyd-freeman&pid=144119981)

[Thomas Dekany]

Sorry to hear that Scott. I remember many of your details of his collection.

[imported_mystic04]

That`s to bad to hear but just for being a good customer i would at least send some flowers and a card saying how sorry for the loss to the family and don`t forgot to say where it came from

[Accumulator]

Scottwax- Yeah, I remember Harry. Too bad, it sounded like he had some rough breaks along with his success.

[Scottwax]

Got back from his service, his older son got up twice to speak, thought they were going to have to yank him off the podium after 20 minutes of rambling. He`d just gotten out of rehab and only just begun to reconnect with his dad so I guess I can understand.



Anyway, here are some of the many vehicles of his I have done over the years, too bad I didn`t take pictures early on, he had a Rolls Royce Silver Spur and a pretty nice Mercedes 560SEL when I first started his cars, and later a bunch of S600s and a Viper.



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/44_foot_coach_front.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/1999_Bentley_CMW.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/2002_S600V2.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/2004_Rolls_Royce_Phantom_Souvx2_front.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/Lambo_Bentley.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/harley_indian.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/2006_Ford_F250__P_AJT_front1.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/2000_lamborghini2.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/Escalade_after_front1.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/me_buffing_bus.jpg



http://uploader.ws/upload/201007/tough_choice3.jpg

[Thomas Dekany]

Nice collection!

[imported_Bert]

Polishing that Bus/RV had to be a massive job - especially using a PC. Did you have any help with you or did you tackle it by yourself?

[Accumulator]

Scottwax- Does the family still have the (old school) Bentley coupe?



Hope that son is gonna keep his act together and that the estate stuff doesn`t mess up the family.

[(901)]

Sorry to here. Being around almost 30 years I have lost a few to Death and Relocation. Someone else will come along and fill in the gap



I bet he is wishing he would`ve considered a different occupation right about now. Sounds like his life turned into a real mess there at the end.

[Scottwax]

Polishing that Bus/RV had to be a massive job - especially using a PC. Did you have any help with you or did you tackle it by yourself?



I`ve done the Coach on my own a few times, other times one of my sons was helping. He had a rolling staircase in the warehouse, which made it a lot easier to clean the bus.



Accumulator-he sold the Bentley Continental S/C to someone on the New Orleans Saints back in late `04. Loved that car, the paint was about as flawless as I`ve ever seen.



I hope the son gets his act in gear too, the guy whose `66 Vette and Chevelle I did a month ago is owns a bail bond business and knows the kid well, posted bond for him several times-so his troubles are well known. He is actually a very polite person, he just hangs with the wrong crowd and mooches off his Dad. The younger son is a really sharp kid, hadn`t seen him since the parents had split up 7-8 years ago. I remember one time when I was finishing up his Dad`s blue Diablo when he grabbed a bottle of carpet cleaner and sprayed the driver`s door with it, telling me he was helping me. :lol He is at a military boarding school and is hoping to attend the Naval Academy.



No idea how the estate issues will shake out. He and his wife had divorced but had talked of remarrying. I hope Harry`s closest friend is taken care of. I met a lot of Harry`s associates over the years and this gentleman was the one person who I feel was really sincere with regards to his friendship. He had a lot of hanger-ons that seemed more interested in what he could do for them than the man himself.



I didn`t get to know the real "Harry" until the last few years. He used to call me to take care of his cars and tell me not to bother him until I was finished and ready to get paid-which was pretty typical of him. One of his partners said that`s just how he is and it isn`t personal. If he keeps calling me to come out, everything is fine. Over the last few years though, he`d come out and talk to me while I was working or invite me in after I finished. Made me feel pretty good when he said he admired how well my kids had turned out and that he thought I did a terrific job balancing my career and being a parent. He felt he had given his kids too much (especially his older son) and he didn`t know how they would ever make out when he was gone. He also told me how he had found out his accountant and office manager had been stealing from him for several years and how that disappointed him. He might have had a gruff exterior, but he took care of his people. Paid them well, gave them ample vacation time, etc and he said it hurt him deeply that someone he trusted for so long would steal from him. I used to envy his success but getting to know him better, I see it was achieved at a very high cost. Pretty obvious that money is nice but it won`t solve all your problems.

[Accumulator]

Scottwax- Glad to hear you and Harry got to know each other a bit. Not surprised he admired your job/family balancing act. Yeah...everybody has their own burdens to bear no matter how things appear. Hope that overall he thought he had a good ride.



I`m also somehow not surprised that his younger son has his act together. Hope Harry set things up so his money doesn`t make it too easy for anybody to self-destruct.



Yeah, I remember when he found out he`d trusted the wrong people in his business, that must`ve been a real disappointment.



And I believe you about that Continental`s paint. IMO those were still *real* Bentleys, if you get my drift.

[schiddy]

I used to envy his success but getting to know him better, I see it was achieved at a very high cost. Pretty obvious that money is nice but it won`t solve all your problems.



RIP



Very true, and hard to remember when you don`t have the money.