Leon Everett Titus, Jr.

Obituary Please note: Dad wrote his own obituary prior to his death and wanted to share a summary of his life in his own words with his friends and family. He passed away Monday evening, April 21st. "Dear Friends: My name is Leon Titus, Jr. I was a long-time Tacoma resident and son of the founder of Titus-Will Ford. I was born in Seattle to Leon Titus, Sr. and Doris Titus on March 16, 1930. My dad was a pioneer in the automotive industry. He was a prominent and successful businessman who opened dealerships in the Chehalis, Centralia, Olympia, and Seattle areas before settling in Tacoma. During my early years, dad moved our family (which included himself, my mother, me and my brother Paul) to automobile dealerships in Pendleton, Oregon, Lewiston, Idaho, and Yakima before coming back to Tacoma and founding a downtown dealership, the Titus Motor Company in 1938. I attended Lowell Elementary School, Mason Junior High, and was a boarder at Lakeside School in Seattle from the sixth grade until graduation in 1948. I was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at the University of Washington before serving on the front lines in the U.S. Army in the Korean War from 1951-1953. Upon return from the war, I completed my education and graduated with a business administration degree from the University of Washington in 1954. Following graduation, I began my career in car sales at Titus Motor Company. I met Carolyn Douglas of Seattle in 1953 and we were married on July 9, 1955. We made our home in North Tacoma and have lived there since. Carolyn and I celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary last July. My interest in the car business started when my brother and I worked during the summers in dad's dealerships. It continued as my life work. During the 1950's, I sold cars at the Titus Motor Company until my dad acquired an Edsel car franchise. My brother and I operated the Edsel dealership, Titus Edsel, at 6th and Tacoma Avenue, from 1958-59. In the 1960's, the Edsel dealership closed due to nationwide lackluster sales and I entered management at Titus Motor Company. It was during those years that Jim Will became a partner of my dad's and Titus Motor Company became Titus-Will Ford. In 1967, Titus-Will Ford moved from 624 Broadway to its current location off of I-5. From 1970 until my death, I was President of First National Auto Lease, which had been added to the family holdings in 1949. First National was located at 616 Broadway in the former Titus Motor Company building and was an authorized leasing agent of the Ford Motor Company. I was active in the Tacoma community and held memberships in the Tacoma Athletic Club, Tacoma Country and Golf Club, Fircrest Golf Club, Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club, The Tacoma Club, Elks Club #174, Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, the University of Washington Tyee Club (President's Club), Tacoma Art Museum, Washington State Historical Society, LeMay Car Museum, and the Museum of Glass. In the early 1990's, I was honored by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber as Small Business Person of the Month. I leave my wife, Carolyn, of 52 years, my two sons, Leon III and Bruce, my two daughters-in-law, Marci and Linda, and my six grandchildren, Courtney, Kirstin, Michael, Paige, Kelly and Matthew Titus, all of Tacoma. I would like to thank Dr. Frank Senecal and the staff at Hematology Oncology NW PC and St. Joseph Medical Center for their first-rate care the past three years, and more recently Franciscan Hospice for providing excellent in-home care. Memorials may be made to the Leon and Carolyn Titus Memorial Scholarship, c/o Bellarmine Development Office, 2300 S. Washington, Tacoma, WA 98405, or Franciscan Hospice/St. Joseph Medical Center, c/o Franciscan Foundation, P.O. Box 1502, Tacoma, WA 98401. In closing, it has been a very good journey and I will continue the journey in paradise looking for the elusive Edsel." Note from our (or as his grandchildren call him ?" Boppy's) family: We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for Dad and for us. Known for his story telling, wonderful sense of humor, kindness, generosity, and welcoming spirit, we are going to miss him and how he made us laugh, but he will forever be in our hearts. A reception to honor Dad will be held at Fircrest Golf Club, 1500 Regents Blvd., Tacoma, WA 98466 on Monday, April 28th, beginning at noon.