Steve Rontell Suicide, Death – Eddie Rontell, Jr. 18 May 1926 – 20 August 2014 At the age of 88, Eddie J. Rontell passed away quietly at home on August 20, 2014, surrounded by his family. Ed was born in Fresno, California, to Italian immigrants Louis and Ida Rontell, who made their home on a small farm outside Easton.
Ed barely spent a few months at Washington Union High School before leaving early since his father had passed away too soon. He performed several farm labor jobs before joining the Fresno fire department at Hammer Field during World War II. After attempting to build an auto repair shop on Ventura Street and making a few car sales, Ed went on to become a successful automobile dealer in Downtown Fresno for 53 years. He moved to the street of Divisadero.
He experimented with importing new automobile brands including Borgward, Simca, Alfa Romeo, and Jaguar while selling secondhand cars. Ed made his home for many years with a Volvo and a Datsun/Nissan. Ed was the nation’s oldest original Datsun Nissan dealer and one of the oldest Volvo franchisees when he retired in 2002. Ed aimed for excellent customer service while operating a morally and ethically sound firm. The slogan for his company was “Rontell’s, A Trusted Name in Automobiles.”
During his retirement years, he was frequently approached by devoted generations of customers who told him that not only had their parents and grandparents purchased cars from him, but so had they. For several decades, Ed served as a community leader by volunteering for numerous nonprofit organizations. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Fresno, chairman of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum development committee,
board chairman of the Fresno Community Hospital, board member of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, board member of the San Joaquin College of Law, president of the Fresno Downtown Club, board member of the UC Valley Medical Education Foundation, and board member of the CaP CURE Prostate Cancer Foundation. Leading the renovation of St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Fresno alongside his close friend, the late Bishop Steinbock, was one of his most gratifying accomplishments.
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