Philmore J. Hyde
 Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 18, 2001Born: July 7, 1924

Died: January 16, 2001

Married: Barbara Tousley Hyde

Children: George, Tom, Ann, Pat

Philmore J. Hyde established several businesses in Saranac Lake, including the Hyde Fuel Company in 1965.

Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 16, 2001

Philmore J. Hyde

Philmore J. Hyde, 76, of Lake Kiwassa, died early on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001 at his winter home in Vero Beach, Fla.

Born in Grand Rapids, Mich. on July 7, 1924, he was the son of George and Estelle (Jarecki) Hyde. Mr. Hyde served with the 4th Cavalry during World War II. After his discharge, he visited his sister, Betty, and her husband, who were living in Lake Placid. One visit ensured a lifelong attachment to the Tri-Lakes area, particularly Saranac Lake, where he made his home.

As an ardent supporter of and believer in the area, he served on many committees and boards and participated in numerous fund-raising activities. He was president of the Rotary Club, the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Saranac Lake Golf Club, to name a few. He also served on the board at North Country Community College for many years.

In the early years when his children were growing up, Mr. Hyde became an avid supporter of the 4-H Club. As a fund-raiser for Rotary in association with the Stampeders 4-H, an annual horse show was held at his farm on the Bloomingdale Road.

Mr. Hyde operated various businesses in this area over the years, including establishing the Hyde Fuel Company in 1965. This continues to be run by his family today.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara Tousley Hyde; his sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Whalen; two sons and their wives, George and Gretchen Hyde of Winter Park, Fla., and Tom and Marlene Hyde of Saranac Lake; two daughters and their husbands of Saranac Lake, Ann and Mark Weller and Pat and Russ Carnell; and three grandchildren. Becky and Greg Weller of Saranac Lake and Tousley Hyde of Winter Park. Fla. Calling hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday. Jan. 19 at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. There will be a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 at St. Bernard's Church in Saranac Lake with the Rev, F. H. Dennis officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to High Peaks Hospice. Box 840. Saranac Lake. N.Y. 12983.

Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 18, 2001

Prominent SL businessman will be missed

By PETER CROWLEY and NED P. RAUCH, Enterprise Staff Writers

SARANAC LAKE - Philmore Hyde, longtime businessman, former chairman of the North Country Community College Board of Trustees and president of several charitable organizations, died Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001 at his winter home in Vero Beach, Fla., at the age of 76.

Said by one friend to have "contributed so much to the Tri-Lakes area," Mr. Hyde's life in the region began when he returned from his U.S. Cavalry service in World War II and came to Lake Placid to visit his sister, Betty, and her husband. He liked the area so much he decided to stay, and he got a job at Jeffries Motors, a Lake Placid Plymouth dealer which moved to Saranac Lake during his time there.

While working for Jeffries, Mr. Hyde met Barbara Tousley, whom he later married.

Before long, Mr. Hyde decided to go into business for himself. The first in a long string of businesses he would be involved in was a high security storage facility at 38 Main Street, Saranac Lake, called Adirondack Mountain Vaults.

In the mid-1950s, Mr. Hyde built and began to operate Santa's Motel in Lake Placid. Later enterprises included Tousley's Wine and Liquors at 38 Main St., Saranac Lake; Saranac Lake Seed, which provided seed for farm animals and at Trudeau Laboratories, and numerous real-estate interests.

In the mid-1960s, he founded the Hyde Fuel Company in Saranac Lake. In 1980, he started Sturdy Supply, also in Saranac Lake. Both of these businesses are still owned by the Hyde family, along with several convenience stores.

Family members wanted to share with the community their memories of Mr. Hyde's life-long love of horses.

"One of my big involvements with my dad is we were involved in horse shows all over northern New York," son George Hyde, of Winter Park, Fla., said this morning. "That was back in the early '60s and mid-'60s. For many years, I can remember waking up early in the morning and going to horse shows all day long .. Horses were kind of his lifelong passion, I guess, ever since he was a little kid. In World War II, he went into the Cavalry because of that ... He was a big horse guy."

Not only was Hyde a successful businessman, he was committed to the welfare of the community, serving as president of the Rotary Club, the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Saranac Lake Golf Club. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the 4-H Club and hosted an annual horse show at his farm on Bloomingdale Road as a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club in association with the Stampeders 4-H.

In an editorial printed in the Enterprise in 1981, Hyde was praised as someone who had "over the years, contributed an enormous amount of time and effort to the North Country Community College."

Perhaps Hyde's closest brush with fame, at least during his time in Saranac Lake, came in 1966 when he starred in a Texaco regional commercial. According to an article written at the time, comparisons were made between Hyde and Cary Grant. 

Survivors include his wife, Barbara Tousley Hyde; his sister, Elizabeth (Betty) Whalen; two sons and their wives, George and Gretchen Hyde of Winter Park, Fla. and Tom and Marlene Hyde of Saranac Lake; two daughters and their husbands of Saranac Lake, Ann and Mark Weller and Pat and Russ Carnell; and three grandchildren, Becky and Greg Weller of Saranac Lake and Tousley Hyde of Winter Park, Fla.

Calling hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19 at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. There will be a memorial service at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 at St. Bernard's Church in Saranac Lake with the Rev. F. H. Dennis officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to High Peaks Hospice, Box 840, Saranac Lake, N.Y. 12983.

 

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