Upholsterer helps those in need

That was 46 years ago, and since then Art Greengard, now 84, has become well-known for the work he does - furniture upholstery - and for helping those in need.

"People would come to me for advice or some kind of help, and I'm glad to give it. . . . I enjoy people," he said.

One of those is Lisa Martinez, whose 1878 Victorian blue-velvet couch Greengard reupholstered.

Martinez bought the couch at a junk store more than 13 years ago, but she became ill and didn't have the money to fix it.

"She was going through a lot of things, so we just held it until we could do it, then we got it done. It sat for about 10 years in my storage," Greengard said.

His shop, Upholstery Unlimited, is at 610 E. Delano St., on Tucson's north side.

"He held onto it, and he could have sold it," said Martinez, who eventually was able to afford the material and labor cost, which added up to $900. Now her antique couch is worth about $2,800, she said.

When Greengard gets furniture donated to him, he'll give it to those in need. "Once in a while, if somebody has a need I can find something for them," he said.

Greengard grew up in West Los Angeles helping his father in his upholstery shop, but his main interest was classical music.

"I wanted to be a symphony musician," he said. "But I lost a great deal of my hearing during World War II - I was on a battleship."

In the '50s in California, he finally decided to start his own business doing what he already knew. "I still do upholstery the way I grew up watching it done, the old-fashioned way," he said.

His first Tucson shop was on North Fourth Avenue, and he's been at the current spot for 11 years.

Greengard was raised in a Christian environment, in a good and solid family, he said, "and now all I see is bad news and ugly things in our society."

"I would like to see my country, America, return to its basic values, because we have been losing them and I hate to see it," he said.

So he helps whenever he has a chance. Every morning, Greengard takes his colleague's 11-year-old daughter to school.

Omar Antelo, his insurance agent, said Greengard is friendly and caring. "He is that kind of guy who would help if somebody needs it. Nobody is going to pay insurance for somebody else." Greengard has paid his daughter's insurance for 29 years.

Antelo said Greengard is very proud of his age and the fact that he's still working.

"Just look around and you will see why I work six days a week," Greengard said, pointing out all the furniture he's fixing in his shop.

He prefers to be doing something productive rather than sitting at home watching TV.

"All of my friends that were anywhere near my age, when they retired they didn't last very long. I wanna keep on living and working and enjoying life," he said.

"I hope I can work the last day of my life."

Contact reporter Mariana Alvarado at 573-4597 or malvarado@azstarnet.com