L.Z. "Pete" Fletcher, founder of Fullerton, Calf.-based Pete's Road Service Inc., recently died at the age of 94.
Fletcher, who moved from Oklahoma to California with his family in the early 1930's, opened Pete's Road Service in 1969 with $10,000 and a down payment on an Alamo gas station.
"The only thing that kept us going in the early years was his sweat, determination and perseverance - more, it seemed, than any one man could possibly possess, 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Pete's Road Service - now in its third generation of ownership - has grown into a 10-location operation throughout southern California. The commercially focused dealership also operates a retread plant.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Fletcher served as an infantry combat solider in northern Italy from 1944 to 1946.
Click here for his full obituary.