Pat Rooney, former chairman and CEO of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and a member of the Tire Industry Hall of Fame, died Dec. 18. He was 67.
Walter J. Dealtrey, co-founder of Service Tire Co. Inc., died Dec. 2. He was 74. The commercial dealership, founded in 1955, became Service Tire Truck Centers (STTC) in 1967.
Theo Oswald ``T.O.'' Haas, founder of Lincoln, Neb.-based T.O. Haas Tire Co., died Dec. 1. He was 87. Mr. Haas, a member of the Tire Industry Hall of Fame and 1997 recipient of the Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award from Tire Business, also was known for his many community service endeavors.
John Joseph ``Joe'' Flynn Jr., president and founder of the Mercer, Pa.-based Flynn Tire Group, died Nov. 9. He was 60. Flynn Tire, founded in 1964, has 19 retail stores in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
Kenneth J. Ryan, former president and co-founder of Tire Centers Inc. and long-time B.F. Goodrich Rubber Co. executive, died Oct. 27. He was 60.
Jesse Edward ``Jackie'' McGuirt, former owner of McGuirt Tire & Service in Ridgeway, S.C., died Oct. 26. He was 58. Mr. McGuirt, a 37-year tire industry veteran, was shot by an armed robber last year, leaving him paralyzed from the underarms down.
Joseph J. Kilcoyne, a longtime veteran of the retread industry and member of the International Tire Retreading and Repairing Hall of Fame, died Oct. 18. He was 78. He began his career in 1956 when he joined the American Machine and Foundry Co.
Alan L. Ockene, former president and CEO of General Tire Inc., died Aug. 20. He was 71. The first American to serve on the eight-member board of Germany's Continental A.G., Mr. Ockene lead General Tire for nearly four years.
William H. Campbell, former senior vice president of sales and customer service at B.F. Goodrich's tire division, died July 20. He was 89. Mr. Campbell joined B.F. Goodrich in 1937 as a salesman in Philadelphia.
John T. ``Jack'' Darrow, a veteran manager for Bridgestone/Firestone, died April 24. He was 71. Mr. Darrow had started as a tire installer at a Firestone store and retired in 1988 as a wholesale zone manager.
Dohn Graham, a member of Big O Tires Inc.'s Hall of Fame, died April 2. He was 72. After decades of opening Big O locations, he was named to the company's Hall of Fame in 1997.
Thomas R. Cooney, a former editor of Tire Review magazine, died March 4. He was 59. Mr. Cooney worked at the magazine from 1979 to 1988.
Jerry Noble, a former Montana state representative and longtime tire dealer, died Dec. 23 in Great Falls, Mont. He was 64. Mr. Noble was co-owner of Jerry Noble Tire Factory and founder of Jerry Noble Tires. He had served as a state senator for four years before leaving in 1992.