Gilbert M. Hair
Gilbert M. Hair passed
away on September 15, 2004 at Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach,
Florida after a long fight against cancer. He was 63 years old.
He is survived by his daughter Nicole Hair Vasbinder, his mother
Jane MacMahon Hair Jantzen, his brothers Robert J. Janzten Jr. and
Michael G. Jantzen, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Mr. Hair was born
in Manila, Philippine Islands on March 16, 1941. In early 1942 he
and his mother were put into Japanese prison camp. His father, John
MacGavin Hair, was a British subject and volunteered for the American
Army. He was captured by the Japanese Army and eventually died aboard
a Japanese POW "hell ship". After Gil and his mother were
liberated in 1945 his mother married Robert J. Jantzen and the family
lived in Singapore and Thailand.
After serving in the
Marine Corps he started his career in the airline industry, working
for Pan American World Airways and Continental Airlines. He went
on to become a stockbroker and investment banker before founding
the Center For Internee Rights in 1991 where he fought for the rights
of civilian prisoners of the Japanese during World War II. He was
an alumnus of Mercersburg Academy, International School of Bangkok,
American University and Pacific Western University and was active
throughout his life in various civic and social organizations.
Memorial services
will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 4pm at the Church
by the Sea in Bal Harbour, Florida. The family requests in lieu
of flowers that donations be made to American Ex-Prisoners of War.
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