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johnl
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« on: April 29, 2010, 17:26:10 pm »

Auto Haus and the Bruce Cooley Story

For sometime I’ve been looking for the photo attached to this story to share with you.  While cleaning out a closet last night at home and not even thinking about the photo it appeared in front of me.  Many memories stirred within me as I looked at all of the faces and especially my friend Bruce Cooley and his beautiful wife Sue.

In September of 1971 I began working for the Rosevear’s in the Buena Park Beach Blvd. retail store as the “second man”.  A fellow named Kevin Corrigan who drove a Volvo P1800 ran the store and was working six days a week.  The Costa Mesa Store was just being opened and Bruce Cooley, a local resident, ran that store.  Besides being the fill in guy so that Kevin and Bruce could get some time off the growing business require more help.

Soon after I was hired by Lynn Rosevear Dave Greiner was also brought aboard.  Dave and Bruce were school friends and I just beat Dave timing wise as he started within a month after I did as I remember.

Both stores grew in volume and there were more retail locations established and eventually Bruce and his wife Sue moved up to Running Springs in the San Bernardino Mountains and he ran the newly established store located on Highland Ave. in San Bernardino.

Sue Cooley had come to work at the Auto Haus Warehouse on Dale St. in Fullerton.  This is where Bruce met her and was immediately attracted.  There was sort of an unwritten policy about employees dating, but none the less Bruce pursued Sue and soon after they were married.

There were many times that Bruce and Sue, Dave and his girl friend and soon to be wife Julie and Christie and I would go to Steak ‘n Stein for those huge meals.  What great times we had and I’ll always remember Bruce not wanting to eat to much of the cheese bread or the potato to keep his weight down.

Times moved on and we all prospered.  In August of 1975 Bruce and Sue were living in an apartment in Anaheim on Magnolia just north of Lincoln.  They had moved back down and we had hired other people to operate the San Bernardino location.  Sue came back to work at the Warehouse and Bruce took over the Costa Mesa location again.

By this time I was overseeing all of the stores and would usually be in a different location daily.  One day in that August Bruce asked me if I would drive him to the Doctor as he was having problems with a leg.  Little did any of us know what lied ahead? 

Bruce was diagnosed with a very rare form of Cancer that usually hits very small children and even infants.  At that time I think there were only a couple of documented cases in America. 

Treatment was immediately begun and it did nothing to kill the Cancer.  The next step was discussing removing the leg before it spread.  Bruce and Sue had fully resigned themselves to this and both were ready to continue their lives.  Bruce was a very accomplished snow skier and was already making plans to ski with just one leg.  He always had a positive attitude through the entire ordeal.

Soon he was not able to work and was bed ridden.  His weight dropped and we all saw the stress Sue was under.  We all knew as they did that his time would be short.  This wasn’t supposed to happen in life, but only in the movies.  Here are two people just starting their lives and soon it would be over.

Bruce would turn 25 in March of 1976 and so we all planned a big birthday party for him knowing this would probably be the last one.  We all arrived at the Cooley’s place on March 28 when this photo was shot I think by Ron Rosevear.  Some of us hadn’t seen Bruce in a while and were shocked to see how he had gone down.  His hair was gone due to chemo and what was once a handsome strong young man was now a shell of his former self.

The photo attached is that gathering and less than two months later (May 15, 1976) he was gone.  Over the years this photo hung in a hall way within our home. Now that I’ve found it again it will be displayed in our home as a remembrance of Bruce, Sue and those times.   We are now approaching the 34th anniversary of his passing and I still think of him.  Why is it we tend to loose the good guys early?

Sue soon after Bruce’s passing Sue left the company and for a period Ed Craig and myself stayed in contact.  Time moved on and we both lost contact with her but heard she had married again.  I’ve tried to find her just to see how she is doing with no luck.  Ed and I have always said we hope she has had a good life since all of this as she certainly deserved such.

Faces in the photo:
Back row left to right:  Linda Rosevear (Lynn’s first wife), Jere Alhadeff, Lynn Rosevear, Kevin Corrigan, Ed Craig, John Lazenby, Stan Davis.
Second row, the girls left to right;  Unknown, Cheryl Rosevear (Ron’s only daughter), Unknown, Barbara Alcott, Verona (Ronnie) Rosevear (Lynn & Ron’s mother)
Front row;  Bruce Cooley (with Auto Haus hat) and Sue Cooley.

In completing this story I’d like to say that I feel fortunate to still be in contact with some of these folks and I was honored to call Bruce and Sue friends.  God’s speed Bruce, I miss you old friend.  I’ve said it before and will always continue to remind everyone, life is precious, so appreciate and saver it.
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Volkswagens Limited, Der Kleiner Panzers Founder Member
Celebrating 60 years of Volkswagens in my life 1963-2023

Life is a learning experience and then you die but when you do you've lived a good life if you contributed to your fellow man.
.
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« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2010, 18:02:09 pm »

It still amazes me that so many people from different generations and countries have become a close knit "family", just from the love of our little VW's.
I hope in the future we will all be calling each other life long friends.
:-)
P.S. I hope we do hear from Sue Cooley someday.
P.S.S. Can't wait to catch up with all of you at the Bug-In Sunday !
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Donny B.
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« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2010, 18:10:10 pm »

Very touching!  Thanks!
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Don Bulitta
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jonathan
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« Reply #3 on: April 29, 2010, 18:50:33 pm »

Thanks for sharing John,its stories like this from the old days that make this forum the brilliant place it is.
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edcraig
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« Reply #4 on: April 29, 2010, 20:42:19 pm »

Good story John.

Watching what Bruce and Sue had to deal with had a big effect on me back then. and still does in many ways  Sue left AH shorty after Bruce's death.  I kept in touch with her until she re-married a few years later.  Last time we spoke was at her wedding.  We had become close friends, but I think she really needed to break away from any memories of Bruce and AH with her new life.  She was a total doll and one of the sweetest persons I have ever know.

BTW..you'll notice my infulence on John Lazenby even back then.  Note his Hawiian shirt in the photo.  Note quite as tacky as mine, but he was learning!

....Ed.

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johnl
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« Reply #5 on: April 29, 2010, 21:41:58 pm »

Good story John.

Watching what Bruce and Sue had to deal with had a big effect on me back then. and still does in many ways  Sue left AH shorty after Bruce's death.  I kept in touch with her until she re-married a few years later.  Last time we spoke was at her wedding.  We had become close friends, but I think she really needed to break away from any memories of Bruce and AH with her new life.  She was a total doll and one of the sweetest persons I have ever know.

BTW..you'll notice my infulence on John Lazenby even back then.  Note his Hawiian shirt in the photo.  Note quite as tacky as mine, but he was learning!

....Ed.

DRA member

ED, all you state about Bruce and Sue I agree with and feel the same.  Sue was a very special person and I hope she has had a good life as she certainly deserved such.
  Regarding the shirt, well I hate to say this but Ed use to beg me for my hand down shirts, thus I got rid of the really TACKY ones so he would have something to wear.   Wink Wink
Serioulsly Ed, thanks for being a good guy and great friend all of these years.  You are the BEST

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Volkswagens Limited, Der Kleiner Panzers Founder Member
Celebrating 60 years of Volkswagens in my life 1963-2023

Life is a learning experience and then you die but when you do you've lived a good life if you contributed to your fellow man.
Nico86
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« Reply #6 on: April 29, 2010, 22:21:05 pm »

Thanks for sharing John. Wink
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Stan Davis
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« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2010, 00:03:49 am »

So many years have gone by since this happened so I'm a little hazy on some, but I spent time with Bruce and Sue outside of Auto-Haus also. I was Manager of the Orange store (or maybe I was still at Buena Park) Can't remember if I was married at this time or not (to Kitty) but I remember Bruce being on crutches one day at Auto Haus Warehouse I think. All of us Managers used to go in on Monday mornings and pick up "Special Orders: and check stock on certain items we were selling a lot of, and there Bruce was. So I kidded him and asked what happened.He said he didn't know, but thought he might have fractured a bone in his lower leg or ankle, but the Doctors couldn't see it with x-rays he just had taken. I kidded him about it a little more and figurerd he would be OK in a couple of days. Well, all of us found out it was some kind of incurable bone cancer and it was spreading fat upwards in his body. Seems like with a couple of months, maybe 3, he had lost the ability to walk and was in that weel chair. I remember how he was too proud to let any of us touch his wheelchair, he always wanted to show how he could manage on his own. Wouldn't let me help him in or out of his car. He was always so fiercely independent. Don't think he had been married to Sue too long, but they had just bought a house in Costa Mesa I think, and he was taking me through it, showing me how he was going to widen the doorways so his wheel chair could fit through. He already had a ramp built for the front door so he could get up that. So things progressed and he got worse, and then he went into Hoag Hospital to the "terminally ill cancer patient" floor. I think it was the 13th or 14th floor, and it was only for cancer patients who weren't going to live much longer. I think me and Kitty or somebody else from Auto Haus went up one time to visit, but it was very brief, and after that they wouldn't let us anymore. He used to call me at 3 or 4 in the morning and just start talking about "getting his order together for the store (Auto Haus):, and how he was short Weber carbs or 010 distributors or s+s headers or whatever. Thr first couple of times I started to correct him and say we weren't at work, but the 3rd time I just let him ramble on and agreed with him about everything. Don't remember much after that until all of us went to the funeral service at that church. I kept in touch with Sue for awhile after that, even went to dinner a couple of times over at her parents house, and then she just drifted away.

Sorry my memory is not as good as John's or Ed's, but thought i could share those memories that I still have of Bruce and Sue.
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Neil Davies
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« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2010, 12:28:39 pm »

We lost Ben Bosworth from Half A Brain VW club five years ago this weekend, to long term kidney problems at the age of 32. He's never far from my thoughts, and I'm proud to have called him my friend.
Although we're all here due to a material possession (those funny little cars), the friendships we make through them are the real important things, no matter how long someone is around for.

Thanks for sharing John, Stan and Ed.
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Rennsurfer
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« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2010, 14:13:24 pm »

John & Neil, you both bring up great points. Something that gets lost in our day to day fast paced lives. Enjoy and celebrate those friendships, for we know not when they can end nor when we lose the people that we care about.
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