Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Spiro Hallas, longtime Bethesda barber, passes away

Spiro Hallas, barber and proprietor of Spiro's Barber Shop & Styling in Bethesda, passed away on Christmas Eve. Hallas' shop has been a fixture at the Shops at Sumner Place (Little Falls Mall, for longtime residents) for decades, and in Glen Echo before that. For those who live near the shopping center, Spiro's is the equivalent of the venerable Westwood Barber Shop for neighborhoods on the other side of Massachusetts Avenue. But many customers traveled farther than that to patronize Spiro's.

Flowers and an American flag stood outside the door of the barber shop on Monday, as customers shared memories outside the shop, and on internet message boards. 

Spiro's daughter, Maria Hallas, says that funeral arrangements have been made for this Saturday, December 31, at St. George Greek Orthodox Church at 7701 Bradley Boulevard (near Seven Locks Road). The viewing will be held at 10:00 AM, and the funeral service will begin at 11:00 AM. All who remember Spiro are invited to attend, and a luncheon will be held afterward.

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:48 AM

    Sad to hear this. Spiro cut my hair when I was a wee lad, and the barbershop was located downstairs. He put a board across the armrests of his barber chair for little kids like me to sit on.

    When any customer would come in, he's say, "So, the usual, eh?" even though he probably didn't remember what the usual was. Charming man, sad to see him go.

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  2. He cut my hair for years but I was thinking about this guy the other day. I hadn't been to him in a while... he was always in a good mood but was never quite the same after his wife died. Hope he his RIP now.

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  3. Anonymous9:05 AM

    A photo of Mr. Hallas would be nice.

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  4. Anonymous10:00 AM

    9:05AM ---- Learn to appreciate more and complain less.
    #krankykilljoy

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:36 AM

      Not all of us had the opportunity to meet Mr. Hallas. And many of his former customers might not know his full name. That's why a picture would be helpful.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:39 AM

      Also, it's very odd that you would accuse someone of being a "killjoy" on a memorial thread.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous10:04 AM

    A life well lived! Mr. Halas will be remembered fondly by many. Sincere condolences to Mr. Hallas's family, friends and customers.

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  6. Anonymous10:40 AM

    He was a fixture of my childhood...so sad to hear this.

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  7. Anonymous11:15 AM

    He was the first person to cut my hair!

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  8. Anonymous6:57 AM

    You need to specify in your article that this is not the same Spiro of the Spiro barber shop in Kensington and Bradley Barber shop in Bethesda. This is an incredibly misleading headline because there is another "longtime bethesda barber" by the same name.

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    1. 6:57: I don't "have to" do anything. Try to be respectful if making demands. Unless the other barbers are named Hallas, the headline isn't confusing anyone. To say this is an "incredibly misleading headline" is hyperbole at best, and sour grapes over my competitor sleeping through another big story at worst.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous6:52 AM

    "Making demands"? WTF are you talking about? I see several readers who made requests for more information. Providing information is a journalist's job, as you (should) know.

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  10. 6:52: And I have - everything you need to know about the importance of Mr. Hallas, and his funeral arrangements, is here in this article. The only other "request" was a troll asking for a photo. Where would I get a photo of someone who has died? There's palpable frustration that I had the exclusive on this important story, leading to sour grapes on a couple of people's part.

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  11. Anonymous4:00 PM

    R.I.P. Mr. Hallas

    I got all my haircuts there as a kid in the 70's to early 80's. I remember him as being a very nice & personable man. Condolences to the people in his life.

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