Halfacre honored to the end

An enormous display case loomed for years at the center of Traditional Jewelers in Fashion Island — to the staff’s chagrin.

Owner Marion Halfacre fielded endless complaints about the monolith until, one day, it was gone.

Halfacre donated the $25,000 case to Chapman University in Orange for use in the school’s library. He personally informed each of his employees, asking: “Did you see it’s gone?”

“He loved the saying, ‘Character is what you do when no one else is looking,’ ” said store sales manager Shawna Brewer.

Staff gathered this week to share that story and others about their former employer after learning of his death.

A family member called police Saturday after discovering Halfacre lying on the ground in front of his Corona del Mar home. He had died Friday of heart complications at the age of 58, according to the Orange County Coroner’s Office.

Those who knew the owner of Traditional Jewelers were stunned, especially since he spent every morning working out at the city’s illustrious Pacific Club.

“He sold his Corvette just to get into that club,” Brewer said.

Halfacre sponsored a number of local charities and events, including the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade awards dinner and auction.

“I don’t know of anytime Marion said ‘no’ when asked to step up and become involved,” Roger Alford, former Commodores Club skipper, wrote in an e-mail.

Halfacre never forgot where he came from and brought that charm and warmth with him, said Nancy Stack, the founder of the Cystinosis Research Foundation.

“They made us feel like they were the only charity they would ever support,” Stack said.

Halfacre spent as much time in business circles as he did with charities.

In 2002, he was elected to the Jewelers of America Board of Directors by more than 10,000 members of the Jewelers of America nationwide. At the time, he served as president of the California Jewelers Assn. while remaining an active member of the industry.

Halfacre’s most recent honor, Commodore of the Year, given by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Commodores Club, came Friday for his unyielding devotion to the city’s economic and cultural growth.

A photograph of Halfacre that night shows him smiling.

He exemplified confidence and humility all in the same package, Alford said of the Tennessee native. “Southern comfort was evident in all he did.

“He was a successful businessman who could easily put me at ease in any circumstance,” Alford said. “I was [never] uncomfortable being with him because even though he had a high profile he was not one to flaunt his accomplishments.”

When Halfacre won awards, they weren’t his awards, they were Traditional’s, said Master Jeweler Yvette Eckman. And he won so many that they became pieces of everyday conversation.

Eckman ate lunch Friday with Halfacre, her employer for 23 years.

“That was my gift, our lunch together,” she said.

Although the store closed Sunday, Halfacre’s wife, Lula, was back at work running the shop Monday. Most of her time that day was spent informing business acquaintances and friends of her husband’s death.

“Her strength is amazing,” Brewer said. “She knew he would want the business to go on.”

Before getting underway with the trying task, Lula gathered the staff to discuss what had happened and share their memories of Marion, and the gifts he left each of them.

“Isn’t it a beautiful day in paradise?” Halfacre would rave, Brewer said, attempting to mimic the vivacious nature of her former employer. “He was a very thankful man.”

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The family has planned a celebration of life from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., June 24, at the Pacific Club. They asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Cystinosis Research Foundation, 18802 Bardeen Ave., Irvine, CA 92612.