Donald Nagy’s life could be summed up by three things: his love for his family, his barbershop and beer.
The owner of Don’s Barber Shop in North Huntingdon died Tuesday. He was 91.
For 65 years, Nagy cut hair five days a week. He would arrive at his shop at 4:30 a.m. and wouldn’t leave until 5 p.m. Nagy, of North Huntingdon, retired a few months ago after falling ill with prostate cancer.
He never took a vacation because his customers relied on him, said Jamie Sweeney, Nagy’s nephew.
“Work defined his life,” Sweeney said. “That’s probably why he lived so long.”
Nagy lived to interact with his customers. He was kind to everyone he spoke to, said Sweeney, 51, of Penn Hills.
“He probably bought half of North Huntingdon a beer at one point in his life,” he said.
If someone came to the barbershop without any money, Nagy would cut their hair for free, said his brother-in-law George Sweeney, 76, of Donegal.
“I never knew him to have an enemy,” he said. “It’s hard to say what kind of person he was because he was such a good man.”
When Nagy wasn’t cutting hair or frequenting a local bar, he was with his family. His nephew said Nagy would come over every Sunday to drink beer, watch sports and cut hair.
Nagy never skipped spending a holiday with his family, George Sweeney said.
“He’s going to be deeply missed by everyone,” he said.
Nagy is survived by two brothers, Charles (Joanne) Nagy of Greensburg, and Julius Nagy and Den Earhardt of Delaware; four sisters, Betty Guzzy of New Stanton, Dolores (Ronald) Leake of Texas, Pat Nagy of New Stanton, and Dianne Janroy of Greensburg; and two sisters-in-law, Betty Nagy of Greensburg and Doris Nagy of Oklahoma.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Joseph W. Nickels Funeral Home Inc., 404 Sewickley Ave., Herminie. A funeral liturgy will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Entombment with full military honors will follow in Westmoreland County Memorial Park in Hempfield.