By Ron Hayes
BRINY BREEZES — Look for George Haller any sunny afternoon and you’d find him in his regular chair on the beach, joking, chatting and reminiscing with a group of friends known around town as “the raisins,” because of their devotion to the sun.
“We talked about Briny Breezes and our friends up in the cold,” remembers Paul Ruopp. “We talked about the girls that walked along the beach — George was a great one for that — and friends that were no longer with us.”
Now the raisins must reminisce about Mr. Haller.
A resident since 1988, he died Jan.14 at Bethesda Memorial Hospital while recovering from a stroke suffered over the Thanksgiving weekend. He was 84.
“Briny Breezes is a great little spot and the people are lovely,” said his daughter, Susan Haller of Baldwin, N.Y. “My father treasured the friendships he made there.”
In his retirement, Mr. Haller retained the discipline he learned during 30 years as a New York City police officer. He rose each morning at 6:30 and headed to the exercise room, and followed that with a few laps in the pool and a bike ride along Ocean Boulevard. Then he’d pack a lunch and head to the county pool in Delray Beach for another 40 laps, followed by his regular session with “the raisins.”
“George was a great guy,” said Roupp. “He lived a wonderful life, and he loved his routine.”
Born in Brooklyn on Sept. 4, 1924, George John Haller was a Navy veteran who served in the Pacific theater during World War II. He joined the New York Police Department in 1951, the year before he married Dalma Prosperi. Mrs. Haller passed away in 1994.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Haller is survived by two sons, Stephen, of Redondo Beach, Calif., and Robert, of Rockville Center, N.Y.; and three grandchildren, Kelsey, Elizabeth and Victoria Haller.
Mr. Haller was buried beside his late wife in Greenfield Cemetery, North Baldwin, N.Y., on Jan. 20.
The family requests that donations in his memory be made to the Briny Breezes Memorial Fund or the Briny Breezes Library Fund.
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