Gene Hacker, Hackensack camera store owner, dies at 91Monday, August 16, 2010
Last updated: Monday August 16, 2010, 5:56 PM
BY JAY LEVIN
The Record
STAFF WRITER
Gene Hacker, an ebullient merchant whose camera store was a Hackensack mainstay, died Friday. He was 91 and lived in Delray Beach, Fla.
Mr. Hacker discovered photography as a Boy Scout in New York City and was introduced to merchandising at the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair. Working for 20th Century Photomatic Corp., he supervised a booth where fairgoers had their pictures taken against humorous backdrops.
He entered the photo booth concession business after his World War II Army service. He opened the first Gene Hacker Camera Shop around 1950 at 44 Hackensack Ave. The self-proclaimed “camera doctor” later relocated to nearby 530 River St.
He ran the store with his wife, Bella, until retiring to Florida in the early ’90s. The couple’s sons-in-law kept Gene Hacker Camera going for another decade.
Mr. Hacker once attributed the business’ success to the lifetime guarantee he gave on cameras. “We will replace parts, repair and service the equipment specified hereon as necessary to keep it in operating condition at no charge while it remains in the possession of the original purchaser. This includes normal wear and tear,” read the official-looking certificate with the Gene Hacker Camera Shop corporate seal.
Mr. Hacker was the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association’s Retailer of the Year in 1979. He was selected because of his extensive involvement in business and civic organizations, including the Hackensack Rotary Club, which honored Mr. Hacker as its Man of the Year in 1978.
The outgoing Mr. Hacker kept in his pocket a prescription bottle filled with tiny ladybug stick pins. “He always wore one on his lapel,” said grandson Eric Anderson, a board member of the Hackensack Upper Main Alliance, which promotes improvements to the business district. “Someone would always say to him, ‘Excuse me, sir, but there’s a ladybug on your shoulder.’ That would usually strike up a conversation, and if he liked you, he’d give you a ladybug pin.”
Mr. Hacker was even better known for his hat collection. He amassed hundreds of hats from around the world. A 1970 Record story about his hobby pictured Mr. Hacker modeling a Peruvian mayor’s hat, an Italian ski patrol hat, a Taiwanese cardinal’s biretta and a Bermudian motorcycle crash helmet. He gave lectures about his hats to Boy Scouts and civic and religious groups.
Mr. Hacker, formerly of Hackensack and Oradell, is survived by a daughter, Maxine Anderson of River Edge, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His wife died in 1992 and a daughter, Lillian Ashton, died in 2003.
Graveside services took place today in Riverside Cemetery, Saddle Brook, under the direction of Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Directors.
E-mail: levin@northjersey.com
