"Dean of shopping centers" ran Randhurst, Patisserie

When Harold Carlson was asked in the early 1960s to manage Randhurst Mall in Mount Prospect, it was the largest indoor mall in the country, but mall management as an profession was still in its infancy.

There were no manuals or established practices, and he fretted about the size of the task before taking on the challenge.

"I figured there was no one who knew much less, nor no one who knew much more, so I said yes," Mr. Carlson told the trade publication SCT upon his retirement. "I'm glad I did."

So the maanger called a "self-educated man" by his friends established his own practices, some of which became industry standards.

Mr. Carlson went on to become an industry leader and taught shopping center management.

Along the way, he became known as the "dean of shopping centers." SCT's obituary called him "a Chicago-area shopping center management guru who taught legions of executives to view their job as a profession and not just an occupation."

The Arlington Heights resident died at the age of 81 on Tuesday morning at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights from complications related to cancer.

Born and raised in Oak Park, he joined the Navy during World War II. His family said all his life he was proud to have been a radioman in the Pacific theater.

"To the very end, he remembered the Morse code like it was yesterday," said stepson Gregory Carpenter.

After the war, Mr. Carlson thought he would try his hand at his father's trade, bricklaying.

"He used to say he'd come home at the end of the day 20 pounds heavier from all the mortar he spilled on himself and he said he knew then he was no bricklayer," Carpenter said.

Mr. Carlson initially began writing appraisals but went on to manage Randhurst from the 1960s into the 1970s. His firm consulted and managed centers across the country, including Arlington Market in Arlington Heights.

While managing Randhurst, he began dating the part-time receptionist. He and his future wife, Patricia, were married nearly 31 years.

Eventually, Mr. Carlson became the co-owner of the Patisserie, a bakery and restaurant in Arlington Heights, before selling the property.

However, he also enjoyed getaway vacations to the family's cabin on Fish Lake in Wisconsin.

"He loved hunting and fishing," said his longtime business partner and friend Paul Dasso. "He was an avid reader. He liked to write. He was a major leader and instructor within the International Council of Shopping Centers."

He is survived by his wife, Patricia, seven children, 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be at the Willow Creek Community Services Chapel at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.