Harold Abelson
October 16, 1930 – January 6, 2023

Harold Richard Abelson, “Hal”, 92; of Gulf Coast Village, Cape Coral, Florida; retired credit manager; formerly of St. Paul, MN and Columbus, OH; passed away peacefully January 6, 2023.

Born and raised in St. Paul, Hal graduated from Johnson Senior High School. He met LaDonna Hartenstein while participating in amateur theater. The couple married and Hal worked as a credit manager in the railroad, refinery, and lumber industries. As a young father, he took night classes at University of Minnesota to further his career in credit and financial management.

Hal finished his degree from Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, where he was awarded the Executive Award of the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management.

In the late 1970’s, the couple moved to Columbus, Ohio when Hal took a position at Lennox Industries. Eventually, Hal started his own firm, Abelson Management, whose largest client was Dun & Bradstreet.

He served as adjunct faculty at Franklin University in Columbus, presented seminars, was a member of Toastmasters, and served on boards of the National Association of Credit Management and the National Central Credit and Financial Management Association. He was awarded “Credit Executive of the Year” by serving as President of the NACM-Central Ohio. Hal loved his work and continued well into his 70’s even after the Abelsons moved full-time to Fort Myers, Florida.

Although Hal was known to be firm in his opinions, he was also curious, philosophical, and spiritual. He was a Grand Master at Montgomery Masonic Lodge in St. Paul and also participated in the Masons, Shriners, Scottish Rite, and Rotary in Florida.

Hal is survived by his devoted wife of 70 years LaDonna Louise Abelson (nee Hartenstein), daughter Susan Lee (partner Andrew Bowyer) Abelson of Chicago, and granddaughters Carmen Lily Abelson and Silvia Louise Abelson.

Uncle of Douglas McCollum, Deborah McCollum-Girard, Dori Woods, Constance Christie, Claudia Ringate, and others. Former father-in-law of Christopher (Laura Harrison) Sullivan.

Preceded in death by son Gregory Alan (Linda Lodge) Abelson, sister Laverne (the late Bill) McCollum, parents Herman Axel Abelson and Ella Sophia Abelson (nee Anderson), and nephew Donald McCollum.

A memorial service is being planned at Gulf Coast Village.

Please check back to this website for further information as it becomes available.

Contributions may be made in his name to Lighthouse of Southwest Florida, for whom Hal kindly put his theatrical voice to good use reading to the blind (long before he lost his own vision to macular degeneration): https://www.lighthouseswfl.org/.

Arrangements entrusted to Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-318-1305 or www.inclusivefuneralcare.com.