Donald W. Dobbs, founder and chairman of Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers Inc., has died after a brief illness. He was 76.
In 1976, Don and his father, Donald W. Dobbs Sr., purchased a single store operated by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. at 1235 South Laclede Station Rd., in the Yorkshire Village Shopping Center, located in south St. Louis County, Mo.
Throughout the following 39 years, the Dobbs’ family enterprise has grown to 40 retail locations serving South County, West County, Central St. Louis, St. Charles, Cape Girardeau, and seven communities in southern Illinois, including Cahokia, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Swansea and Waterloo.
Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers is now the 26th largest independent tire dealership in the U.S., according to the Modern Tire Dealer 100. It is the only local and family-owned and operated major tire and automotive chain in St. Louis, and its surrounding areas, the company says. It also is ranked in the Top 150 privately held companies in St. Louis.
The dealership employs more than 600 local associates and maintains its general offices and distribution centers in High Ridge, Mo.
Dobbs and was married for 58 years to Sue Dobbs. He also leaves his son David Dobbs and daughter Laura Killoren.
Visitation is Wednesday, March 11, 2015, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., at John L. Ziegenhein & Sons Funeral Home (ziegenheinfuneralhome.com), 4830 Lemay Ferry Rd., St. Louis, MO 63129. Funeral service is Thursday, March 12, 2015, at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection (lcrstl.org), 9907 Sappington Rd., Sunset Hills, MO 63128. Funeral service time is pending.
