Larry Jaffe, `Mr. J,' knew how to live

Known as "Mr. J" to Puget Sound cooking enthusiasts, Larry Jaffe built his life around things that people enjoyed.

For more than two decades, Mr. Jaffe had drawn local chefs and customers to what became known as the area's largest gourmet cooking supply store, Mr. J Kitchen Gourmet in Bellevue.

"If you're a cooking enthusiast, it's like a little kid walking into Toys `R' Us," said his younger brother, Paul. "He knew how to live, I'll tell you that. I always looked up to him as being cool."

Mr. Jaffe died Friday (Jan. 14) of cancer. He was 60.

Born in Seattle in 1939, Mr. Jaffe dropped out of the University of Washington to join the Navy in 1958 and laid the groundwork for his career by serving as a cook on a destroyer in the Far East.

After trying his hand in the stereo business in the 1960s with Jafco, Mr. Jaffe later opened the cooking supply store near Bellevue Square. It became known for its chef-taught cooking classes and the vastness of its upscale merchandise, from French flatware to pots and pans to commercial stoves.

And Mr. Jaffe became known as a man with a playful, teasing sense of humor and a low threshold for nonsense.

"He was just a character," said his sister, Sue Silberman. "He did what he wanted to do, said what he wanted to say and didn't dress for anybody."

Most days, Mr. Jaffe's dressing habits consisted of taking off one pair of jeans and putting on a nicer pair before heading to the kitchen store. In the mornings, he tended his farm in Carnation, where he lived with his wife, Debora, and daughter, Sydney, and raised Japanese cattle.

He also cared for a menagerie of stray dogs and cats, and presided over the veritable funhouse of antique arcade games he had assiduously collected over the years: fortune-telling machines, one-armed bandits, World's Fair memorabilia.

"He would travel anywhere he heard a casino had closed," his sister recalled. "All my kids, whenever they had birthday parties, they would always want to go to Larry's. His house is like a museum, but with all the fun things."

That facet of Mr. Jaffe's personality emerged early, too. He was a yo-yo champion in his youth, often entertained people with magic tricks, and was constantly bringing home animals - sometimes to the consternation of his parents.

His brother recalled: "One day he brought home a monkey, and of course my father hit the ceiling. The monkey was scared to death of my father and would climb a pole lamp and just start shaking it and hissing at him. But when Larry came home, he would just curl up like a little baby."

In addition to his wife, daughter, brother and sister, Mr. Jaffe is survived by his mother, Ruby, of Seattle.

Mr. Jaffe's family held a private service Sunday. Remembrances can be made to the Sidney Z. Jaffe Fund, Temple De Hirsch Sinai, 1511 East Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122.

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