Federate Auto Parts Founder Dies at 65

Arthur Jay (Art) Fisher Jr., age 65, CEO of Fisher Auto Parts and founder of Federated Auto Parts Distributors has passed away.
Fisher passed away on Thursday, January 15th in Staunton, Virginia at home surrounded by his family.
A graduate of Hope College, Holland, MI; Fisher taught school before entering the automotive aftermarket in 1964. Under his leadership, Fisher Auto Parts grew from a single location to become one of the largest independently owned auto parts chains in the United States. Fisher also founded Federated Auto Parts Distributors in 1985. Federated quickly became one of the industries premier programmed marketing groups. In addition to his work and dedication to Fisher and Federated Auto Parts, Art served on the Board of Governors of AWDA and as chairman in 2001.
Arthur Jay (Bo) Fisher III, president of Fisher Auto Parts since 1992, has been unanimously elected to the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board at Fisher Auto Parts. He owns a majority of the company. Gary Shifflett and Herb Godschalk have been promoted to become co-Presidents of Fisher Auto Parts.
Bo Fisher commented that "Dad loved work and the people that he worked with. We sincerely thank everyone who prayed for and offered their support for dad; especially all of the wonderful members of Federated, co-workers and our supplier partners. Dad was very much a forward thinker and visionary. He proactively approached all personnel, financial and business manners in a way that allows Fisher Auto Parts and it’s principals to remain focused, debt free and viable moving forward into the future. Clearly, the ship is headed in the right direction as can be seen in the phenomenal same-store sales and bottom line increases in 2003 that far surpass industry peers. We’ll continue to operate and grow using the same conservative management style and as a private, debt-free entity with a strong balance sheet. We foresee no changes in operations or philosophy.. despite the great loss of my father, partner, boss and best friend."