Table of Contents
Pugmire
Joseph Pugmire
+Marian Ivison
|-Herbert Pugmire
|-Percy Pugmire
|-Arthur Pugmire
|-Ernest Pugmire
+Grace Vickers
|-Arthur Pugmire
|-Eileen Pugmire
|-Meriel Pugmire
|-Josephine Pugmire
|-John Pugmire
+Minnette Cobb
|-John “Jack” Pugmire
|-Richard Pugmire
+Marilyn Bradley
|-Austin Pugmire
|-Helen Pugmire
John Pugmire Sr.
John McLeod Pugmire Sr.
Obituary
John McLeod Pugmire, age 89, passed away Thurday afternoon, August 6, 2009 of an aneurysm.
Mr. Pugmire was the founder of Pugmire Lincoln Mercury dealerships in Cobb County GA.
Mr. Pugmire was born in 1919 in Peking, China, where his parents were Salvation Army missionaries. He was the fourth of five children of Ernest Ivison Pugmire and Grace Vickers Pugmire, and spent much of his childhood in Japan.
The family landed in Atlanta, GA about the 1930s, and John Pugmire graduatd from Boys High School in Atlanta, GA in 1937.
He soon met Ruth Minnette Cobb of Anderson, S.C., by happenstance in an Atlanta drugstore, and they were married in 1938 in a ceremony officiated by his father Ernest Pugmire.
During World War II, Mr. Pugmire was a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and served in the Pacific. He was a Japanese interpreter and interpreted for one of the war's surrender ceremonies in Yokosuka, Japan.
His first dealership job began in 1948 with Edmunds Lincoln-Mercury in Atlanta, GA. He later managed several other dealerships, among them Crest Ford in Buckhead, Hub Ford in Atlanta and Nalley Chevrolet.
In 1960, he bought a Lincoln-Mercury dealership at 600 West Peachtree Street in Atlanta and made it Pugmire Lincoln Mercury. He sold that dealership in 1967 and purchased Gem City Lincoln Mercury in Marietta, GA from A. D. McGaughey. It then took the Pugmire name.
At the same time, he and Mrs. Pugmire were raising their two sons, John “Jack” Pugmire JR and Richard. The family is longtime members of Peachtree Presbyterian Church on Roswell Road in Buckhead.
He was a member of Cherokee Town and Country Club.
Mr. Pugmire retired in 1981 and his son Richard became president of the company. Now in its third generation of family ownership, the company has three locations in Cobb County, two in Marietta, GA and one in Kennesaw, GA.
Mr. Pugmire is survived by his wife Ruth; their two sons; and eight grandchildren.
Funeral services for Mr. Pugmire will be at 2:00 p.m. Monday, August 10, 2009 at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Road NW, Atlanta, GA in the Kellett Chapel.
Burial will follow in Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, GA.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Salvation Army.
Minnette Cobb Pugmire
Ruth Minnette Cobb Pugmire.
Obituary
Minnette Cobb Pugmire died January 15, 2014 at Hospice Atlanta at age 95. Her funeral and celebration of her life was held at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Kellett Chapel. Interment was at Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, Georgia.
Minnette was born April 6, 1919 in Anderson, SC to Joseph Hollis Cobb and Lois Wells Cobb. Minnette married John McLeod Pugmire December 22, 1938 and they were married for 71 years until John's death in 2009. They lived in Atlanta and Marietta. Together they joined Peachtree Presbyterian Church in 1951. They were lifelong members there. Minnette was active in Women of the Church, various circles, and the Martha Wilson's Sunday School Class. She enjoyed gardening and especially loved growing her roses. She was a member of the Pomaria Garden Club. She also enjoyed playing bridge with her friends and was a member of several bridge groups over the years. She and John loved traveling and were fortunate to have made several trips abroad due to John's work.They were Charter members of Cherokee Town and Country Club where they enjoyed many years of social and golf activities. For the past five years Minnette has resided at The Atria Johnson Ferry where she was cared for and loved by all who knew her.
Minnette was preceded in death by her husband John McLeod Pugmire and sister Betty Cobb Hydrik. She is survived by her sons John M. Pugmire, Jr. and spouse, Richard H. Pugmire and spouse, and six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the Salvation Army, 1000 Center Place, Norcross, GA 30093.
Richard Pugmire
Obituary
Richard Pugmire of Pugmire Auto Group, a man remembered as a dedicated family man and businessman, died Monday after a battle with brain cancer.
The Marietta resident was 71.
The Pugmire business was started by Richard Pugmire’s father, John Pugmire, in 1960, and its Marietta location, Pugmire Lincoln on Cobb Parkway, opened its doors in 1973.
Funeral visitation will be held Thursday, Feb. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the H.M. Patterson and Sons, Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Rd NE in Sandy Springs. Funeral services will be held on Friday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Rd NW in Atlanta. Burial will follow at Arlington Memorial Cemetery, located at 201 Mt Vernon Hwy NW in Sandy Springs.
Brenda Ellers was Pugmire’s assistant for 47 years, longer than Pugmire Lincoln has been around.
“I was blessed to have been a part of the Pugmire family and dealerships for the past 47 years,” she said. “Richard and I grew up together in the dealership. Richard was a true gentleman — a kind, caring and loving man with a heart bigger than life and a smile on his face at all times for everyone. He absolutely worshipped his family.”
Pugmire was married to Marilyn “Lynn” Bradley, his high school sweetheart, since 1971. They had a son and a daughter, Austin Pugmire and Helen Pugmire Skipper, who are now the third generation of Pugmires running the company.
Pugmire’s colleagues in the auto industry said he had a reputation for excellence both as a businessman and a family man.
“To have a dealership that’s family owned and run for over 50 years, it’s not as prevalent as it used to be, and it really speaks to the way the community has embraced the Pugmire family,” said Steve Hammond, Lincoln’s regional manager for the southeast. “It’s hard to stay in business for that many years without having a great community relationship. The number of years that their family has owned and operated the dealership speaks volumes to all the things they have delivered in terms of customer satisfaction and community relationships.”
Shayne Wilson, president of the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association, said Pugmire was a leader in local and statewide auto industry groups, where he earned respect for being skilled at business and a joy to be around.
“He was absolutely one of the nicest individuals you will ever meet,” Wilson said. “Since his passing, I have had several dealers say they never heard anyone have a bad word to say about him … He cared about everybody he ever met. He was a great family man, they’re a great family business.”
Pugmire’s associates outside of his business also have high praise for the man.
Mike Arthur said he met Pugmire as a child. They went through school together and eventually joined the Marine Corps Reserves together, where Pugmire served for six years.
“I really loved him like a brother, and I feel like he felt the same way even though we weren’t related by blood,” Arthur said.
Though they sometimes drifted apart over the years, Arthur, who works in construction, said he recently built a house for Pugmire, and that meant he got to see his old pal often for about a year and a half.
Arthur said he will always treasure that time and the simple kindness Pugmire always showed him.
“What I loved was a Diet Coke with peanuts in it,” Arthur said. “He’d pull up, and he’d always have me a Diet Coke with peanuts. He’d just look at me with that big smile and we’d just laugh. … He had an infectious laugh. He’d always sit there and laugh, and when he’d laugh, his shoulders would just be moving. You couldn’t help but laugh with him.”
A native Atlantan, Pugmire graduated from The University of Georgia in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business. Arthur said he was an extremely loyal Georgia fan who also enjoyed hunting deer, turkey, and birds with his family and friends.
Pugmire was also greatly involved in the local Salvation Army, which was a family tradition. His grandfather, Ernest Pugmire, was the National Commander of the Salvation Army in the United States.
A Salvation Army spokeswoman said Pugmire joined the Salvation Army Metro Atlanta Area Command Advisory Board in 1998, where one of his top accomplishments was securing the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association as the title sponsor for the annual charity golf tournament benefiting The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Atlanta.
Pugmire Auto Group
John McLeod Pugmire started Pugmire Lincoln Mercury in 1960 in downtown Atlanta GA, at the corner of North Avenue and West Peachtree Street. The son of an English missionary with the Salvation Army, he attended Boys High in Atlanta and fought in World War II with the Sixth Division of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific. His work ethic, diligence, and passion for doing ethical business and achieving uncommonly high customer satisfaction are the underlying platform by which our family is rooted. These same strong family values continue to drive our business philosophy today at Pugmire Ford and Pugmire Lincoln new and used car dealerships.
Austin Pugmire, the third generation, is general manager of operations today. Operating upon the same customer service values and ethics instilled by his father and grandfather, he is committed to ensuring the Pugmire tradition that business continue to be done the Pugmire way. The Pugmire brand can be summed up in one simple statement: “It's a Pugmire!” We still believe in delivering value to our customers. To them, “It's a Pugmire” means “Great car, great price, great value, great service…overall great experience!”