Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.Grant and Christine Graham had long-term plans for Hostetter's Jewelry in Countryside Village.
Once Grant retired from his full-time job as a director of product management at Leprino Foods in Denver, he planned to be more hands-on at the jewelry store, traveling from their home in Evergreen, Colo., to Omaha more frequently and for longer visits.
But the plan shifted in July when Grant Graham died suddenly from heart failure. He was 45.
"He was 6-foot-4, healthy, very active and had no health problems before," Christine Graham said. "It was just very sudden."
She said she was left with one of the toughest decisions of her life. After more than 40 years in business, including the last 32 years in Countryside Village, Hostetter's Jewelry will close this month. In the process of liquidating the store, though, she has had help from former store owners, employees and members of the community.
"It's been so overwhelming to see the kind of impact the store has had on the community," she said. "Everybody has pulled together like a family."
For months after her husband's death, Graham would lie in bed wondering if she was making the right decision. She knew she couldn't do her clerical and accounts payable duties and her husband's financial responsibilities for the store all while raising her four children — three of them still living at home in Colorado.
Christine and Grant were in contact with the store every day and would travel to Omaha about every six weeks to visit the store. Goldsmith Jarven Warren of Omaha, who has worked at Hostetter's for 18 years, managed the store for the Grahams. The store has three other full-time employees and one part-timer.
"Physically and emotionally I could not keep it going from Colorado," Christine Graham said. "I feel like I'm giving up another part of him, but I knew I had to do it. I have to raise my kids without the stress. I had to simplify my life because life is too short."
Christine said she first considered selling the business, but the bids were so low, they "were like a slap in the face." She decided a liquidation sale would be best.
The Grahams bought into the business about 15 years ago with two other couples — Amy and Fred Hendricks of Minneapolis and Amy's parents, Joyce and the late Richard Boynton of Omaha. The Grahams became the sole owners of the store in 2008.
That didn't stop the former owners from coming back. Amy Hendricks drove to Omaha from Minneapolis to help her former partner when she heard the news about Grant, and Joyce Boynton stopped in to help, too. Even a customer who was a retired police officer volunteered to work security at the store.
Christine's sister, Kathleen Perdue of Omaha, worked long hours at the store for her sister.
"She's been my rock through it all," Graham said. And former employees came into the store to share hugs and goodbyes. And the people who have been loyal customers for decades keep coming in — some on a daily basis — to chat and check out the deals.
"It's been so emotional, it's gotten to the point where we just put Kleenex on the counter," Graham said.
Marsha Wright of Omaha, a former employee and longtime customer of Hostetter's, followed Jarven Warren to the store because she loved his work so much. She lives near 175th Street and Nebraska Highway 370, yet the "jaunt" to the store near 87th and Pacific Streets was always worth it.
"My parents live in Norfolk, and when my mother needed jewelry fixed or clasps put on, I would take it to Hostetter's," she said. "Jarven is such a talented goldsmith, and it's a great group of people that work there. It was like a little family, and I'm really, really sad to see them go."
It's been difficult for Warren, too. He and the other employees have prospects for future employment, easing the decision for Graham. Still, it's an emotional time for them, too.
"All of our customers seem to be showing the same sentiment," Warren said. "They're sad to see us go."
But they're not letting Warren get too far away. He has a long list of names and phone numbers of customers who plan to follow him when he gets a new job.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1336, leia.mendoza@owh.com, twitter.com/LeiaMendoza
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