Slipcover vet Spencer Tuchinsky passes

-- Home Textiles Today, 5/25/2010 1:24:00 PM

Chicago – Longtime industry veteran Spencer Tuchinsky, considered a maven of the slipcover segment of the business, passed away on May 5. He was 72.

Tuchinsky had spent the past 12 years working as vp of sales and marketing for Vernon, Calif.-based Classic Slipcovers when he died of cancer.

He began his career in home textiles in 1959 at the age of 21 working for SureFit, where his father worked 50 years as plant manager in the company’s Allenton, Pa.-based facility.

During his 33-year career with SureFit, Tuchinsky held many different posts, including head of the mail order division for over 10 years. He was credited with helping introduce direct-ship to consumers as a retail delivery innovation.

In 1992, he left the company to join CHF, where he was charged with adding slipcovers to the business. By the mid 1990s, he accomplished that task.

Thereafter, he joined Classic Slipcovers as national sales manager.

Chris Wroolie, principal of 16-year-old Classic Slipcovers, told HTT Tuchinsky “was very instrumental in helping guide our company to the success it is today. We miss him greatly. He was a true gentleman and had a great sense of humor.”

Added Tuchinsky’s longtime friend, Roy McLaurin, an independent sales representative: “His passion for the business along with his lovable sense of humor never failed to bring a smile to everyone he touched - customers and colleagues alike. Our industry has lost a true gentleman and a lovable character.”

Private services were held in early May in Chicago, where he lived and worked.