Obituaries - Don Allen Hunziker
(16 Sep 1927, Sewanee, TN - 12 Feb 2001, High Point, NC)
The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, Monday, February 19, 2001, page 12
LADD FURNITURE FOUNDER DON HUNZIKER, 73, DIES.
Don Hunziker, a longtime industry leader and a founder of Ladd Furniture, died on Feb. 12 in High Point, N.C., after a lengthy illness. He was 73.
Hunziker started his career in 1956 as director of personnel at David M. Lea and Company, becoming president of Lea Industries in 1974. In 1981 Hunziker and other management formed Ladd by purchasing Lea Industries, American Drew and Daystrom. He was president of Ladd from 1981 to 1982 and chairman and chief executive officer from 1982 to 1992,
when he retired.
Greensboro (NC) News & Record, Wednesday, February 14, 2001, B6
FOUNDER OF LADD FURNITURE DIES AT 73 DON HUNZIKER, WHO ASSOCIATES SAY WAS ALWAYS A GENTLEMAN, WAS A STALWART OF THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY
On their first date, Don Hunziker told Rachel Thames that he was going to marry her. Although she said "sure", she didn't believe him at the time. Two years later, they were walking down the aisle.
This same determination and focus propelled Hunziker to the top of the home furnishing industry for nearly three decades. The 73-year-old founder of LADD Furniture Inc. died Monday after a long fight with Parkinson's disease.
Although he tried his hand at golf and loved to watch football games - particularly if Duke was playing - guiding LADD Furniture and later the High Point furniture industry through the ups and downs of the business cycle was his favorite diversion.
"His business was his hobby," said Rachel, his wife of 48 years.
The list of Hunziker's accomplishments is long and varied. He was vice president of the Furniture Factories Marketing Association and played a key role in the consolidation of the International Home Furnishings Market during the 1980s. He served as president of the Southern Furniture Manufacturers Association, director of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association and chairman of High point Regional Hospital.
He was named "Chief Executive of the Year" in 1988 by Financial World Magazine, received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Furniture Manufacturers Association in 1988 and was inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame in 1999. "He just loved the furniture industry," Rachel Hunziker says. Hunziker got his start in the furniture industry in 1956 when he become director of personnel for David M. Lea and Company in Richmond, Va. He became president of the company in 1974. In 1977, soon after the company was acquired by the Sperry & Hutchinson Co., Hunziker was named president and CEO of Sperry & Hutchinson Furniture Division Inc. Soon after, the Hunzikers moved to North Carolina when Sperry & Hutchinson decided to relocate the administrative office for its furniture division. It was a move that Rachel was at first reluctant to make.
"I didn't want to leave Virginia, but Don told me that we had to think about the other employees who were also moving to North Carolina and we had to put on a happy face. So that's what I tried to do."
The two soon came to love High Point, she said.
Just a few years later, however, Sperry & Hutchinson Co. was the target of takeover by Baldwin-United.
For a period, it was uncertain whether Hunziker would even have a job.
As the takeover bid progressed, Hunziker and fellow executive Richard Allen plotted to buy three furniture manufacturing subsidiaries for about $71 million in a leveraged buyout - and LADD Furniture was born.
No sooner had the three closed the deal than the recession of the early '80s hit and interest rates shot up. Still, with Hunziker as CEO, the company managed to eke out a small profit. Within a few years, LADD was expanding by leaps and bounds. By the time Hunziker retired in 1991, LADD was the nation's fourth-largest furniture company with $511 million in annual revenues.
"He was very direct, very straightforward," says LADD's current CEO Fred Schuermann, who recently announced his retirement. LADD is now owned by La-Z-Boy. "Don was responsible for the LADD philosophy, which is to place integrity above all. He always conducted business in an ethical manner. He was the perfect Southern gentleman."
"He was a loving, caring husband and father," says his wife. "But he also loved that company."
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Wednesday, February 14, 2001, B9
DON ALLEN HUNZIKER DIES
Don Allen Hunziker became president of furniture giant Lea Industries in Richmond just when the bottom dropped out of the furniture business in 1975.
Retailers, who had been building up inventories in anticipation of shortages, suddenly and collectively decided instead they had too much furniture. Not only did they stop ordering furniture; they also tried shipping it back to the manufacturers.
Mr. Hunziker knew enough about manufacturing to know the inventory-liquidation period would end and planned for Lea, then ranked among the nation's top 10 producers of bedroom furniture, to ship its products in large quantities again.
He was also former president and chief operating officer of Sperry and Hutchinson Furniture Division Inc.
Mr. Hunziker died Monday in High Point, N.C., after a lengthy illness. He was 73.
A Sewanee, Tenn., native, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from what now is Virginia Commonwealth University in 1951.
He worked for Lea for a time and then worked in personnel in First & Merchants National Bank and managed the personnel department of a North Carolina farm cooperative.
In 1956, he rejoined David M. Lea and Co. furniture business in Richmond, where he was director of industrial relations. Lea, which had recently been unionized, was having labor problems. Mr. Hunziker solved the problems by working with, instead of against, the unions and began a steady rise through company ranks. He became president in 1974, when the business had become known as Lea Industries.
Lea Industries later was acquired by Sperry and Hutchinson Co., where he was named senior vice president in 1977. Mr. Hunziker later became president and chief operating officer of what had become Sperry and Hutchinson Furniture Division.
After 25 years working for other people, he and other management personnel founded LADD Furniture Inc. in High Point in 1981 by purchasing the three furniture divisions of Baldwin United which had been acquired from Sperry and Hutchinson - Lea Industries, Lea Lumber & Plywood Co. and American Drew and Daystrom. Under his leadership, LADD became one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the United States.
Mr. Hunziker served as president of LADD for a year and then chairman and chief operating officer from 1982 until he retired in 1992. He continued on the LADD board of directors until 1995, when he became chairman emeritus.
He was instrumental in the consolidation of the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point and served as vice president of the Furniture Factories Marketing Association, which helped maintain a threatened furniture market in High Point.
A member and officer of numerous furniture industry groups, he was inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame in 1999.
The National Conference of Christians and Jews gave him its Brotherhood Award in 1987. In 1988, Financial World magazine named him Chief Executive of the Year, choosing him from among more than 2,500 executives of U.S. public companies with sales exceeding $100 million.
VCU named him Alumnus of the Year in 1991.
Mr. Hunziker, who was an Army Air Forces veteran, was former president of the Chesterfield Jaycees, former chairman of the South Richmond-Chesterfield YMCA and secretary and director of Willow Oaks Country Club.
Survivors include his wife, Rachel Thames Hunziker; two daughters, Valerie Richardson of Ashburn and Pamela McDorman of Arlington County; and a brother, Robert Hunziker of Huntsville, Ala.
A memorial service will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in High Point. A private service will be held in Richmond.
Greensboro (NC) News & Record, Tuesday, February 13, 2001
OBITUARIES: Mr. Hunziker received the following honors and awards: June 1987, Brotherhood Award, from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; December 1987, "Man of the Year" for 1987, by the Home Furnishings Association of Delaware Valley; March 1988, "Chief Executive of the Year", by Financial World magazine, chosen from 2,549 U.S. public companies with sales exceeding $100 million; 1988, Distinguished Service Award from the American Furniture Manufacturers Association; 1991, Alumnus of the Year, Virginia Commonwealth University; and in 1999, Inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame.
His civic, community and charitable activities and contributions include; former president of the Richmond, Va., Jaycees; served on the High Point Regional Hospital Board for several years and was former chairman of High Point Regional Hospital from 1991 to 1993; served on the Presbyterian Home Board, High point; former Executive in Residence at Virginia Commonwealth University; former Trustee of Elon College, Elon; was on the Board of North Carolina National Bank, High Point; was on the Board of Wachovia Bank & Trust Company, High Point; director of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, the Governors Advisory Committee on Travel and Tourism; provided leadership in company and individual support for the United Way and was a member of the Tocqueville Group. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force.
Mr. Hunziker is also survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Valerie Hunziker Richardson and husband, Craig of Ashburn, Va., and Pamela Hunziker McDorman and husband, Wayne of Arlington, Va. A brother, Robert Hunziker of Huntsville, Ala., also survives.
The family will be at the home from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2001, at Forest Hill Drive.
Memorials may be directed to National Parkinsons Disease Foundation, 1501 NW 9th Ave., Miami, Fla. 33136; St. Marys Episcopal Church, 108 West Farriss Ave., High Point, N.C. 27262 or to Hospice of the Piedmont, 1801 Westchester Drive, High Point, N.C. 27262.
Cumby Family Funeral Service, High Point, is in charge of arrangements.
Greensboro News & Record, Tuesday, February 13, 2001
OBITUARIES: DON ALLEN HUNZIKER
HIGH POINT Don Allen Hunziker, local furniture industry leader, of 900 Forrest Hill Drive, and Penn Hook, Va., died Monday, Feb. 12, 2001, after a lengthy illness.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001, at St. Marys Episcopal Church, High Point, with the Rev. Dr. Glenn E. Busch officiating. A private service will follow in Richmond, Va.
He was born Sept. 16, 1927, in Sewanee, Tenn., the son of John and Fredericka Woodlea Hunziker, who preceded him in death. He was married to the former Rachel Thames, who survives of the home.
He was a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va., with a bachelors degree in business administration in 1951.
He was a member of Saint Marys Episcopal Church, where he served.
He started his career in the furniture industry in 1956, when he joined the David M. Lea and Company, Richmond, Va., where he was director of personnel. He moved on up the ranks over the years and became president of Lea Industries in 1974, which was later acquired by the Sperry and Hutchinson Company. In 1977, he was named senior vice president of the Sperry and Hutchinson Company and president and CEO of Sperry and Hutchinson Furniture Division, Inc.
After 25 years into a successful business career, Mr. Hunziker and other management personnel founded LADD Furniture, Inc., High Point, in 1981, by purchasing the three furniture divisions of Baldwin United, which had been acquired from S&H - Lea Industries, American Drew and Daystrom (LADD), as well as Lea Lumber & Plywood Co. He held the position of president of LADD Furniture, Inc. form 1981 to 1982, and chairman and CEO from 1982 to 1992, from which he retired in 1992 and continued as a LADD board member until 1995 at which time he was named chairman emeritus. Under his leadership, LADD became one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the country.
Over the years, he has had hundreds of employees respect, honor and love which has to be the ultimate award in business.
He was very instrumental in the consolidation of the International Home Furnishings Market, High Point and was vice president of the Furniture Factories Marketing Association which helped maintain a threatened furniture market in High Point.
He chaired the industry Bunk Bed Safety Task Group.
He cochaired the Long-Range Planning Committee of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association in shaping the industrys destiny.
He launched a college scholarship program in various furniture majors at North Carolina State University.
He was the former director of The Beinstock Furniture Library, High Point; former president of the Southern Furniture Manufacturers Association; former president of the Furniture Factories Manufacturing Association; former chairman and director of the International Woodworking Machinery and Furniture Supply Fair, USA; director emeritus of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association; former secretary / director of the Furniture Foundation, Inc.; former member of High Point University Home Furnishings Board; former member of High Point University Home Furnishings Marketing Advisory Committee; former member of the Advisory Board of the Atlanta Market Center; chairman and president of American Furniture Manufacturers Association, form 1981 to 1982; and was on the Board of Governors for the Dallas and Atlanta Furniture Markets.
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