Car dealer enjoyed touring the country

9/1/2002

FOSTORIA - Isabel Louise Pore, who co-owned several car dealerships and traveled to all 49 continental states with her husband, died Wednesday in the Kingston Residence of Perrysburg, where she resided. She was 96.

Family members said Mrs. Pore's health had been failing for a while, and she had cancer. Her nephew, Richard Schneider, said the cause of death was Alzheimer's disease.

The daughter of Henry and Dora Belle Schneider, Mrs. Pore married her husband, J. Oliver, 76 years ago. Mr. Pore died May 10 in the Kingston Residence.

They first began operating car dealerships in the 1920s, and eventually owned businesses in Lima, Findlay, and Fostoria. Mrs. Pore served as the business' secretary, taking care of the day-to-day affairs. The pair closed their last dealership, the J. Oliver Pore Buick-Oldsmobile Dealership in Fostoria, when they retired in 1968.

“Oliver, her husband, that's all he ever did, was sell cars,” Mr. Schneider said. “They were quite a couple. If you're married 76 years, you have to be something special.”

After their retirement, the couple resided in Largo, Fla. In the 1980s, they bought an Airstream travel trailer and began traveling around the country with other Airstream owners.

Because they did not have children, they often would spend winters with various nieces and nephews who live in Ohio and Indiana.

“They had thousands of trailers that would come and gather in certain areas. They were just row after row after row. It was quite interesting,” said Jeannie Schneider, Mrs. Pore's niece, adding that the summers spent with her aunt and uncle had been memorable. “They loved to play cards, Chinese Checkers, any kind of games.”

Mrs. Pore, a Toledo native, grew up on a dairy farm on the corner of Byrne Road and Heatherdowns Boulevard, where she learned to sew her own clothes. She was known among her family for the diaries she started when she married, which she updated every day until five years ago.

Surviving are 16 nieces and nephews.

There will be no visitation, and services will be private. Arrangements are being handled by the Bennett-Emert-Szakovits Funeral Home in Toledo.