Richard Siegel, president of Tire Wholesale Warehouse, a division of Morgan Tire & Auto Inc., and a former president of Summit Tire & Battery Inc., died unexpectedly May 9 at his home in Clearwater. He was 64.
Mr. Siegel entered his family's tire business in Elizabeth, N.J., upon graduating from Rutgers University and became the youngest dealer elected to the office of president of the New Jersey State Tire Dealers Association. He was re-elected president of the association twice more in 1973 and 1976.
He served as an officer, director, treasurer and later vice president and president of Summit Tire, one of the largest private brand cooperatives in the U.S. He also served on Uniroyal's Distributor Council and as a member of the General Tire Advisory Group for several years.
His company, Siegel Tire, grew to become one of the largest tire distributors in the New York and New Jersey metro area during his 26-year tenure as vice president of sales and marketing. The company focused exclusively on distributing to independent tire dealerships.
Mr. Siegel joined Morgan Tire & Auto (MTA)-now owned by Bridgestone/Firestone-in 1991. He was responsible for extending wholesale distribution throughout the company's southeast marketing area as well as the Kansas City and Oklahoma markets.
In a statement, Morgan Tire said it was shocked and saddened to learn of Mr. Siegel's passing. ``He was a valued member of our MTA family, and he will be missed.''
Mr. Siegel is survived by his wife Ann Muller; son Jeff; daughter Jill Attis; stepdaughter Chrissy Muller; sister Susan Fineman; and two granddaughters.