My first new car was a 1972 Ford Maverick which I purchased at McBroom Motor Co., at 112 N. Lexington Ave. After 45 years in the car business Leonard McBroom was in the process of selling the dealership to a new guy from California, Irv Kelman.
I have no memory of who sold me the car but I will never forget the service manager, a big guy named Buck Gustafson. Friendly, personable and easy to talk to, I think he came with the business.
I followed Buck to Galva when he purchased the S&S Ford dealership from Art Apfel forming Gustafson Ford, LLC. That’s when his son, Kurt, joined the operation moving his family to Galva where he was involved in the community serving on both the school and park boards.
Sadly, we lost Kurt on Saturday which came as a shock to friends, customers and many others in both cities and elsewhere.
Several years after Buck’s death in 2003 Kurt, and his mother, Georgia, purchased Kewanee Motors from Irv Kelman and returned to Kewanee, where he had begun washing cars in high school and his dad worked for over 40 years.
Kurt learned from watching his dad that while volume and sales are important in the car business, the most important thing is people…both the customers and those who serve them. That’s what keeps customers coming back, not necessarily the biggest selection or the best deal.
Kurt lived by that guiding belief and principle.
His daughter, Courtlin, who joined Kurt in the family business, posted on Facebook shortly after her father’s death:
“I truly believe you were an angel put on this earth. You had the biggest heart, and you touched so many lives just by being yourself.”
His wife, Carrie, also reflected on their untimely loss, “He loved his family, he loved God,he loved his life, he loved his friends and he loved giving back to others sprinkling kindness as he moved throughout his life.”
Kurt Gustafson preserved and expanded on his father’s legacy of automotive and community service and was fortunate in being able to see a future in his lifetime that included the next generation.
No one knows exactly when the Lord will take us, or why He picked the time.
An unknown author wrote “Do not mourn me when I’m gone. Just remember that I was here.”
We will dearly miss Kurt, a life gone too soon at 59 years, but his contributions to the Gustafson legacy, his service to the community, and the love of his family will be with us long after he is gone.
