May 20, 2023

Bob Hanson, the third-generation owner of Harold’s Photo, has died.

Hanson, 76, died Wednesday following complications of heart surgery, his family said.

Born in Sioux Falls, Hanson grew up on Phillips Avenue and graduated from Washington High School, then the University of Nebraska Lincoln, before following his father and grandfather into the photography industry.

Harold’s Photo Experts was founded by Emil Hanson in downtown Sioux Falls in 1910 as a portrait studio. His sons, Howard and Harold, opened another camera store and portrait studio under the name Harold’s. In the late 1960s, Bob Hanson and his cousins, Tom and Rick, joined the business.

“To be third and fourth generation is amazing in this day and age,” said Mark Griffin, CEO of Lewis Drug and a longtime friend. “Bob took after his father, being extremely business-savvy. He was a quick wit, smart. He was a character and fun to be around.”

In the early 1990s, Hanson became sole owner of the retail camera side of the business. He grew Harold’s to reach nine locations in three states at its peak.

“I think he was nationally recognized as a leader in the one-hour photo-finishing business, and that was a big deal in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. He was always on the cutting edge,” said attorney Joel Hagen, who became friends with Hanson in junior high.

“He didn’t have a gruff side that I ever saw in the business community. But he was very focused on his customers, his employees, his facility.”

As the story goes, “if Bob was on the floor of Harold’s and a customer was unhappy, Bob would walk up to that person and say, ‘When you leave our store today, you’re going to be happy.’ Whatever it took,” Hagen said.

Hanson was a member of the board of directors of ProMaster, an industry buying group, and on the board of directors of the Photographic Marketing Association. He began transitioning from daily operations of the business a few years ago, though he still could be found in the Sioux Falls store nearly every day.

“He was extremely creative, and in his business, with all the evolution of photography and to say nothing of the iPhone craze, he was able to rise above that and still be successful, which was no small feat,” Griffin said.

“He developed different products, different services and was successful doing that, along with his great family helping him. They were and are the go-to place for photography and photographic products and services, and I think people really appreciate that. Harold’s has a multigenerational following to this day. They can do things nobody else can. He’s a special guy. It’s a special family. If you look at how many families there are in South Dakota that have that kind of heritage and success, they’re far and few.”

While Hanson was still the owner of Harold’s, his three children — sons Davis and Andrew and daughter Emily Erfman — have all taken on various roles within the business, and the plan is to continue operations as normal. The one remaining storefront is at 912 W. 41st St.

“He was kind of everybody’s best friend; that’s wildly true,” Erfman said. “He just was really interested in people and always was up to do anything. He just lived life to the fullest. He meant a lot to a lot of people.”

Hanson “knew cameras and the camera business even better than he knew cars, and cars were his passion,” Griffin added.  “Bob would drive to L.A., he’d drive to New York and not even think twice. He had no limits in terms of how he loved to be on the open road.”

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bob Suga took many such trips with Hanson, including not long ago to California where the avid car collector was able to secure the car he owned in high school.

“He would be willing to take anything apart on a car with no thought that he couldn’t put it back together. He would tackle anything,” Suga said. “He always figured it out. He loved to drive and was like a road warrior. He would drive 1,000 miles in a day and enjoy it. He never, ever stopped, and he was just the funnest guy you’d ever meet.”

The two of them helped out a friend recovering from a health setback recently by taking on some projects within his auto repair store — Hanson often would bounce between checking in at Harold’s and helping out on the vehicles.

“He knew everything about BMWs and Porsches,” Suga added. “You couldn’t ask a question he didn’t know the answer to. He had so many friends, and everyone thought Bob was like their very best friend because he treated everyone so kindly. He was just gracious and never, ever had any derogatory thing to say about anyone, just always positive. It’s amazing he could keep a business like photo processing into a business that kept producing, but he’d always have the next idea of what to do next. He was always thinking of the future.”

The next generation is well equipped to carry on the legacy, Hagen said.

“They all get along well, and they have different responsibilities in the business,” he said. “Bob literally turned the operations over to the three of them, and I think it works. And it’s a tough business to work well.”

Hanson also served a decade on the Sioux Falls Planning Commission, including three years as chair, and on the board of directors for Home Federal Bank.

“Thank God for Sioux Falls and how good it’s been to us,” Hanson said in this 2019 story about his business transition. “The only reason it’s prospered is because of the community. So thank you, Sioux Falls, for being what you are and for allowing our family business to go on for four or five generations.”

Click here for Hanson’s full obituary and information on services.