Des Plaines native and lifelong mushroom farmer

George H. Hasselmann planted his life in mushrooms.

He began a farm as a 19-year-old in 1927 in his native Des Plaines, relocating the business to Elk Grove Village in 1965.

"It was everything. His hands were either in dirt or the mushrooms," son George D. Hasselmann said. "He was a man of the soil. … He loved to see it grow. That was the joy: Big crop, no bigger thrill."

Mr. Hasselmann, who continued growing mushrooms for the masses until retiring at age 90, died Sunday. He was 99.

The son of an onion farmer, Mr. Hasselmann started his mushroom farm on Touhy Avenue between Mount Prospect and Wolf roads in Des Plaines.

"Mushrooms sold for 9 cents a pound," his son said.

He sold mushrooms there until 1965, when he moved the business to neighboring Elk Grove Village.

Mr. Hasselmann ran his Supreme Meadow Mushroom Farms with his son at Route 72 and Oakton Road.

Born May 27, 1908, in Des Plaines, Mr. Hasselmann attributed his long life to growing mushrooms, reluctantly retiring at 90, his son said.

Growing the mushrooms indoors, Mr. Hasselmann loved that he could control the climate.

The cooler the temperature, the slower they grew. When Mr. Hasselmann wanted it to "rain," he would water the tasty fungi.

Customers would walk into the building to buy the mushrooms, which sometimes resulted in a spirited bartering exchange for some of the runts of the crop.

"If they weren't top quality, the customer would say, 'How much do I owe you?' I can see him now: 'You can pay me whatever you feel in your heart and you look like a really generous man,' " his son said.

The result varied.

"Sometimes he got more and sometimes he got less," George D. Hasselmann said.

His father once told him that he wanted a bouquet of mushrooms at his funeral. His son plans to fulfill that wish.

Funeral services for Mr. Hasselmann will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit, 150 Lions Drive, Elk Grove Village. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service. Interment will be private.

Mr. Hasselmann was married to Olivia for 65 years until her death in 1995. Besides his son, survivors include daughter Donna Joy Slayter, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.