Marion Halfacre, the well-known founder and owner of Traditional Jewelers in Fashion Island, Calif., died Saturday of a heart condition, the Daily Pilot newspaper reports. He was 58. In addition to being a community fixture, he was also well known in the jewelry industry. He was a friend of JCK and an original member of the JCK Show Advisory Board.

“It is with a very sad heart that I am inform you that Marion Halfacre founder of Traditional Jewelers suddenly passed away over the weekend. JCK and Reed Exhibitions mourn the death of a true friend and founding member of the JCK Advisory Board. We send our condolences and thoughts to the entire family,” said Dave Bonaparte, group vice president-JCK Events, in an email message to JCK Events and publishing staff.

Halfacre and his wife, Lula, were well-respected members of the business community and stayed consistently involved in a number of local charities. They donated much of their time through their business to the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and served on the Board of Governors at Chapman University in Orange, the newspaper reports.

The Halfacres moved to Newport Beach in 1972 from Mississippi and opened a small shop in Fashion Island which has grown to become a city icon, the newspaper reports. The Halfacres’ two children, Natalie and Eric, help run the store.

In 2001, the Chamber of Commerce honored the couple with a Silver Anchor Award for their contribution to local industry.

Friday the Chamber of Commerce elite Commodores group honored Halfacre as Commodore of the Year. That day he also led the group for his first meeting as Skipper of the Commodores.

Halfacre sponsored a number of local charities and events including the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade awards dinner and auction, the newspaper reports.

In 2003, the Halfacres appeared in the Pilot’s DP 103 for their activity in the business community and charities. In 2002, he was elected to the Jewelers of American Board of Directors by more than 10,000 members of the Jewelers of America nationwide. At the time he served as the president of the California Jewelers Association, while remaining an active member of the business community of the jeweler industry.

JCK