Father/Son Turn Auto Repair into a Family Affair

FATHER/SON TURN AUTO BODY REPAIR INTO A FAMILY AFFAIR

Call it fate. Call it coincidence.

Whatever the reason, Tim (’77) and Brad O’Keefe (’99) never intended to spend their lives immersed in the world of auto body.

They didn’t have to. The profession chose them. The father and son duo have been the driving forces behind Southside Body and Paint in Valentine for almost 40 years.

“I kind of fell into auto body because I didn’t know what else to do,” Tim said. “Our high school guidance counselor never spent much time telling students about career options, and back then, I wasn’t looking too far ahead.”

Once high school was over and adulthood was looming ahead of him, he had to choose something.

“I heard about the auto body program at North Platte Community College when some recruiters came to town,” Tim said. “I thought that might be something I could do. I had a good friend who had graduated from the program, so I was somewhat familiar with it, but I didn’t have any background in auto body. I wasn’t a gearhead like a lot of my classmates were.”

Tim, who had spent his entire life in Valentine up to that point, decided to give NPCC a try. He packed his bags and headed south.

“We had a classroom, but hardly ever used it,” he said of the auto body program at NPCC. “Everything was hands-on, and that’s the way it should be. I’ve always felt that was the strong point of the program.”

Tim graduated from NPCC in 1977 then returned to Valentine and worked for Kuhl’s Auto Service for three and a half years. “Eventually, I got the bug to start my own business,” Tim said. “It’s just the American Dream I guess — to be your own boss.”

In 1981, he set up shop in a two-car, 816-squarefoot garage next to his house.

“It was hard,” Tim said. “I was the new kid on the block. Plus, it was a small town, and everyone knew I had quit my old job. We didn’t show a profit at all for a while, and I was a little worried about whether we could make it work.”

But work it did. The business wasn’t high volume or high dollar in the early days, but Tim and his crew kept busy with an average of three big jobs per week. By 1984, his business had grown to the point that he needed to expand. Tim moved it to its current location at 405 S. Airport Rd. and subsequently added on in 1996.

It was also in the ’90s that Brad began working for Tim — cleaning cars and prepping parts. Like his father, Brad hadn’t thought too far beyond high school.

“I was just having fun and playing sports, then graduation came, and I had to figure out what to

do,” Brad said. “My dad told me I should get out of town for a while. I hadn’t really planned on auto body, but it was something familiar to me, and NPCC offered a one-year program that was affordable.”

Brad finished a year in NPCC’s auto body program then opted for a second. He graduated from the college in 2000. Ten years ago, he made the decision to move back to Valentine.

Brad purchased the shop from Tim in 2011. By that time, the building was paid off and overhead was low. A large customer base had already been established.

The business has continued to grow under his leadership. It now serves about a 60-mile radius. Increased demand led to the need for more space, which led to another addition in 2019. The facility is currently 8,400-square-feet.

“I like the challenges that come with auto body”

Brad said. “There’s something new and different every day. The procedures are basically the same, but body styles change, and the way vehicles are put together is constantly evolving — you really have to stay on top of things.”

Tim agreed.

“It’s been rewarding,” Tim said. “Anytime you can take something that’s broken and fix it, or, from the business aspect, start with nothing and turn it into something that grows and becomes successful — there’s a sense of accomplishment in that.”

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