2 minute read
Remembering Paul Wondries
On May 3rd, Paul Wondries, owner of Wondries Toyota, KIA of Alhambra, and Wondries Family Collision Center, passed away at the age of 80 while surrounded by close family. He was a driving force for decades in the civic life of Alhambra, and he will be missed.
While attending USC, from 1959 to 1963 Paul worked for Bob Wondries Chevrolet in Glendale. Money earned from this job went in part to pay for his education at USC.
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Upon graduation from USC, Paul went to work full-time for Bob Wondries Chevrolet in insurance and vehicle leasing. He received an insurance sales and brokers license and started a leasing company called Bob Wondries Associates.
In the early 1970s, Paul started looking for a dealership he could own and run on his own. This search took him to Northern California, to the town of Sutter Creek, where Paul and his family eventually moved to. A few years later in 1974 his father, Bob Wondries, requested that Paul return to Southern California to run the family Ford dealership in Alhambra (the Ford dealership Bob Wondries had purchased about a decade earlier in 1966).
In 1981, Paul bought the Toyota dealership in Alhambra, naming it Wondries Toyota. Under his leadership, Wondries Toyota gradually increased sales volume and achieved the coveted Board of Governors Award six years in a row from 1999 through 2004. Paul was also partnered in many other automotive dealerships over the years, including the Wondries Family Collision Center, which was established in 1949 and moved by Paul to Marengo Avenue in 1999. In 2012, the current KIA of Alhambra location was purchased (it had been a Chevrolet dealership).
Paul was deeply engrained in the local Alhambra community, sponsoring numerous local charities and organizations, including the YMCA, the Police Foundation, and local schools.
Paul's spirit and impact on the automotive industry was felt by many. His legacy will live on through the numerous employees/customers he served and represented throughout his career. Please join us in extending our deepest sympathy to Patty Wondries, their dealership employees, and all that knew him.
