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Massaro: 50 years in insurance, and it's not over

By Gary Massaro, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 20, 2007 at midnight

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LAKEWOOD - Bart Haggerty one-ups Mary Poppins.

Ask how he's doing and his answer isn't just "practically perfect in every way," as the character said in the film. He'll tell you this: "I'm perfect. There's damn few of us left."

Don't think he's full of himself. He just likes a big laugh.

Right now, he's a tweener - between major dates in his life.

He was born on St. Patrick's Day 83 years ago in County Mayo, Ireland.

Come April Fools' Day, he will observe the 50th anniversary of the founding of his business, Insurance of Denver.

He still goes to the office every day. But he does take long lunches.

"I don't work as hard as I used to," he said. "I'm here until 7, 7:30 at night. The conscience kicks me in the head, so I stay. Oh, the conscience is a bad thing for the Catholic."

Considering how he came up, it's a wonderful thing that he can laugh - at life and himself.

His family moved to the Chicago area when he was knee-high to a leprechaun. Life was good. And then, suddenly, it wasn't.

"Within months, the Depression hit. Dad was fired. He lost his car. He lost his bank account," Haggerty said.

So they moved to the outskirts. Haggerty and his older brother got paper routes to help out.

Education was important to his mother, Lillian Kelly Haggerty, so Haggerty stayed in school.

When he was older, he worked as a railroad clerk by day, going to college at night. When World War II started, he tried to enlist - he wanted to be a pilot - but was colorblind.

"Two months later, they came and got me and put me in the Air Corps," he said. "I was a cryptographer, a code man."

He was stationed in the Philippines, where his brother Sean was killed. After the war, he finished college, graduating with a business degree with an insurance background. He was hired right off and sent to Iowa.

"I didn't think much of Iowa," he said.

He thought highly of Denver, however. So he quit and moved.

He had seven job offers immediately.

But he decided to open his own business. His mom asked if he was out of his mind.

He told her, "If I can make money for somebody else, I can make money for myself."

Mutual friends introduced him to Lucine Ostermayer.

"I stood her up on the first date. She stood me up on the second date," he said.

They finally connected, were married and had five children. Then Lucine came down with cancer and died. Haggerty's mother moved to Denver to help raise his family. Two of his children work with him.

"I'm still the president and janitor," he said. "There's nobody at home. I see people who retire and vegetate. I'm not about to do that."

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