Deeya Cosmetic owner Nathan dies at 93

Irving I. Nathan, a third-generation Beaumont merchant and the man behind Deeya Cosmetic & Beauty Shop on 11th Street, died Monday morning at his home. He was 93.

The cause was lung cancer, his son, Jerry Nathan, said.

For more than 50 years, the Deeya salon with its distinct sign served as a base for Nathan. Until six months ago, Nathan would start most of his days in the shop's office, dealing with the day-to-day business and greeting customers, his son said.

"He could always be found on 11th Street," Jerry Nathan said. "He loved people, meeting people at the post office, singing and dancing for them."

Nathan started his first business in 1931 with the Reasonable Hats and Beauty Salon, according to The Enterprise archives. His father, J.J. Nathan, ran the largest department store in Beaumont for 30 years, but lost his wealth in the stock market crash of 1929, Jerry Nathan said.

By the 1940s, Irving Nathan had opened a second shop and had concession stands offering hats set up in several other shops around Beaumont.

"In the old days you were not a lady unless you wore hat and gloves," Jerry Nathan said.

In the 1960s, the arrival of the bouffant hairdo ended the era of hats and Nathan started a new venture into cosmetics.

"We knew, no matter what the economy, women would always take care of their faces," Nathan's business advisor, Ilona Rosenfield was quoted as saying in a 1988 Enterprise article.

The Deeya Cosmetic line grew to having 500 franchises in 32 states, said Jerry Nathan.

The line since has scaled back and now is mostly a mail-order business run out of the Deeya salon.

Besides Conn's, Nathan was the longest-term advertiser The Beaumont Enterprise ever had, said Publisher Aubrey Webb.

"He was always very gracious to the lunch servers," Webb, a personal friend as well as a business associate, recalled -- big tips and lots of compliments were Nathan's style.

He was an institution at Beaumont lunch tables, Webb and Jerry Nathan agreed, saying he dined out almost every weekday.

Nathan is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Iris Nathan; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be at Hebrew Rest Cemetery on Wednesday or Thursday, said the family.