Joseph Drew, the entrepreneur who took his family's La Mesa auto dealership from a mom-and-pop business and turned it into one of the top-selling Ford retailers in the country, died Wednesday of complications from cancer.
He was 74.
Drew's father, Elmer Drew, opened Drew's Garage as a one-man mechanic shop in a vacant building on the corner of La Mesa Boulevard and Allison Avenue in 1927. Today, the Drew Auto Center is the oldest family-owned dealership in San Diego County. It consistently wins national honors from Ford Motor Co. for both sales volume and customer satisfaction. Time Magazine named Drew Dealer of the Year in 1988.
The young Joe Drew's love of the Old West took him far from his La Mesa home to the University of Wyoming. He met his wife, Kay Klingaman, there, and in 1963 he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration.
After college, Drew served in the National Guard and the Army, where he achieved the rank of first lieutenant. The day after his discharge in 1967, Joe and Kay drove home to La Mesa, where Joe went back to work at the family dealership the next day. It was the same year the Drew family opened the iconic Roundhouse of Values, which still stands on the dealership's property today near the interchange of state Route 125 and Interstate 8.
“I’ve never seen anybody with so much integrity,” said EDCO owner Ed Burr, a longtime friend. “That’s the biggest thing that made him so successful. People trusted him.”
A devout Christian, Drew lived by the Golden Rule.
“For me, it was never about money,” Drew said in an interview with the University of Wyoming Alumni Association last year. “Money is the result of the way the Lord has blessed us and has a lot to do with Kay and me working together as a team. Success has been the result of this teamwork, but it is not the central thing. The first thing is to be of service to others. If there is any relationship that's going to stand, it has to be bilateral or trilateral, not unilateral where you gain all the benefits and the others don't also gain from it. The main reason we exist is to serve customers, then to provide good solid employment, and as a result, the company benefits.”
Mayor Art Madrid described Drew as one of the pioneers of La Mesa as we know it today.
Drew was so successful because his compassionate personality resonated with people, and he treated customers as individuals rather than a mass of buyers, Madrid said.
“His loss, like a lot of important people, is going to leave a vacuum in our community that I am sure will be filled by his son, Bill, who is already replicating those same skills,” Madrid said.
A Boy Scout in his youth, Joe Drew kept the Scout oath and law in his heart, said Terry Trout, former Scout executive who counted Drew as a dear friend.
“Joe's word was his bond,” Trout said. “He was a humble man and a tower of integrity.”
Drew was an enduring supporter of local Boy Scout troops, giving not only his money but his time as a longtime member of the area council's board of directors. He often went out to the beloved Mataguay Scout Ranch and did brush work and other service projects himself, Trout said.
“He reminded me of President Ronald Reagan the way he would go out and do the routines without any fanfare,” Trout said.
Drew volunteered for other civic organizations, including the board of the Grossmont Hospital Foundation, the El Cajon Chamber of Commerce and the Motor Car Dealers Association of San Diego. Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him to the California New Motor Vehicle Board. He also was part of the group that founded the San Diego Automotive Museum at Balboa Park.
Drew is survived by his wife, Kay; sister, Esther Long; children Bill and Sarah; and several grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Ann.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15 at Shadow Mountain Community Church, 2100 Greenfield Dr. in El Cajon.
Jeremy Ogul is a staff writer with Mission Publishing Group. Have a news story or tip? Email him at jeremy@missionpublishinggroup.com and follow him on Twitter @jsogul.
