John Landy, a military veteran who founded the decorative hardware store Kolson with his father in 1970 and helped run the company until recently, died June 17. He was 83.
With his father Louis, Landy purchased Kolson as a general hardware store in 1960. In 1970, the store moved to its current location at 653 Middle Neck Road.
“He was a forerunner in styles, marketing, and merchandising,” said his daughter Dale Landy, who joined the business in 1985. “He was very well respected within our industry.”
Also joining the business in 1985 was Ruth, Landy’s wife of 47 years. Ruth died in 2003 of heart complications.
Despite being a self-confessed workaholic, Dale said her father knew how to enjoy life, often taking vacations with her mother.
“They loved their cruises,” she said. “They loved going out to dinner.”
Landy was also very proud of his time in the military, serving in the U.S. Army in 1946 and from 1950-1952.
In between military stints, Landy worked as a butcher for his father.
“It’s not an easy life,” Dale said. “I don’t think I could have sat in a freezer all day cutting meat.”
With the aid of the GI Bill he earned an associate degree from Baruch College, which yielded job offers for sales positions at IBM, Canada Dry, and Maspack Hardware. Dale said he chose Maspack because he “had a feeling.” A decade later he bought Kolson.
“He always had a very hard work ethic,” Dale said. “The greatest generation. That’s him to a T – never afraid of hard work.”
Landy was an associate trustee for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. Dale said he developed a deep respect for the cardiology department during his wife’s treatment.
“They are very wonderful people there and they do great work,” Dale said. “We are very involved with them because we feel they do a lot of good. We wanted to embellish upon that and help them.”
The funeral service was held Wednesday, June 22 at 8 p.m. Internment was Thursday, June 23 at Pinelawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to department of cardiology, North Shore University Hospital, 125 Community Drive, Great Neck, NY 11021.
Please make checks payable to North Shore-LIJ Health System Foundation. Any questions concerning donations, please call Roz Herbsman at 516-465-2552.
