Jerome A. “Jerry” Mason, a retired independent tire dealer and former Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. executive, died on April 7, 2011, after an extended illness. He was 84.
Mason began his lengthy relationship with the tire industry at Firestone. He was a member of Firestone’s “College Class,” and advanced through many line and executive sales positions.
According to Joe DePaolis, himself a former Firestone executive, Mason’s specialty was the heavy-duty truck tire segment. He eventually ran his own commercial tire business, Fleet Tire, in Buffalo, N.Y., and a wholesale tire company, Interstate Tire Co.
Mason was a member of the Hercules Tire & Rubber Group, the Hercules board of directors and many business and industry associations.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Isabelle (nee Steffan); children Michele (Charles) Lannon, Peter (Judy) Mason, Kristen (Richard) Buchanan and Dr. Paul (Debbie) Mason; and grandchildren Lauren Williams, Reginald Williams IV, Hunter Buchanan, Peter Mason Jr., Tara Buchanan, Brendan, Danielle, Cameron, Trevor and Taryn Mason.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Gregory the Great Church on Tuesday, April 12, at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Western New York, 4245 Union Rd., # 108, Cheektowaga NY 14225 or the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation of Western New York, 331 Alberta Dr., #106, Amherst, NY 14226.
(For more information and to read Mason's obituary, click here.)
