MEMORIAL WALL HONORS TIRE CENTER LEGEND

 

LES SCHWAB

PRINEVILLE, OREGON – PRINEVILLE FUNERAL HOME, a local funeral home, has erected a memorial
wall honoring the legendary Les Schwab, founder of Les Schwab Tire Centers. The public is invited to
visit the memorial and sign a memorial book that the funeral home will send to the Schwab Family.
Les Schwab spent the better part of four decades building an empire of 410 tire centers across the
Pacific Northwest, renowned for providing outstanding customer service and building employee loyalty
from within.

The self-made businessman got his start delivering newspapers after being orphaned at theyoung age of 15. In less than two years Schwab’s paper route had become such a success, he was earning over $200 a month and was the proud owner of the only new car at his high school. In 1952, anxious to try something more lucrative, Schwab borrowed money from family and bought a dilapidated
tire franchise. Similar to his previous venture, only two short years later the business outperformed its
former record five times over and Schwab expanded the enterprise with four new stores. Above and
beyond, Les Schwab valued hard work and superior performance. As part of his devotion to customer
service, all employees of Schwab from president on down were required to begin their careers changingtires at one of his stores. Les Schwab’s approach to life and philosophy in business are truly what legends are made of and the Prineville community was very lucky to know him.

Funeral Home Manager, Steve Hammond said, “In this environment of shared grief, we have experienced the loss of a great man and friend. We are filled with sorrow and feel the need to come closer to one another and seize messages of hope. We’ve learned more than we ever knew about the community aspect of grief since September 11, 2001. People need a place to go to express their sense of loss ---- whether with quiet reflections or waves of emotion. By erecting this simple memorial, we hope to provide such a place to the Prineville community.

Please visit www.keymemories.com, where both young and old can leave messages of condolence. The comments collected will then be sent to the Schwab Family.

When visiting the memorial at Prineville Funeral Home, located at 199 Northeast 10th, Prineville, OR,
Steve Hammond said the public is welcome to bring flowers, photographs, candles, memorabilia, and
drawings by children to pay tribute. This memorial will remain in place through Sunday, June 24, 2007.

Questions about the memorial can be directed to any member of the staff at 541-447-6459.