Car dealer expanded into boats, RVs
6/26/2003SWANTON - Paul Halferty, a used-car dealer who capitalized on the post-World War II surge in leisure activity by adding boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles to his stock, died yesterday in St. Luke's Hospital. He was 87.
He had congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Halferty, for many years of Sylvania, owned the former Mastercraft Marine & Sports, Inc., which he founded in 1946 in the 2800 block of Tremainsville Road.
“We had one of the largest Evinrude dealerships in the whole area,” said his daughter, Linda, referring to the brand of boat motor.
Mr. Halferty was a past president of the Toledo Marine Dealers Association and the RV Association.
He retired from the business in the late 1970s. He and his wife, Julia, toured the United States in a motor home.
But leisure time did not suit him. Retirement included 23 years as a Realtor for Cavalear Realty Co.
“He couldn't sit still. He had to be busy all the time,” his son, Nick, said.
His daughter said: “He loved being around people. He was a very good salesman, and everybody liked him. Everywhere we'd go, he'd run into somebody he knew.”
Mr. Halferty was born in Latrobe, Pa., but he and his family moved to West Toledo when he was 12.
He was a graduate of the former DeVilbiss High School and, afterward, he was employed as an inspector for the DeVilbiss Co.
He and his wife, Julia, married in 1939. She died Jan. 21, 1990.
Surviving are his son, Richard “Nick” Halferty; daughter, Linda Halferty; two grandsons, and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Walker Funeral Home, where the body will be after 2 p.m. tomorrow.
The family requests tributes to the Alzheimer's Association or a charity of the donor's choice.