One of Cardiff's great businessmen and a much-adored father, grandfather and great-grandfather has died at 89. Ron Austin was believed to be the oldest garage owner in the UK, and his family and colleagues have paid tribute to his "incredible legacy."
Ron was born in south Wales and founded A&A Tyres on Tyndall Street, Cardiff, in 1968 after a career as a fireman in the RAF. He moved to the current site in Leckwith in 1974 and continued to work in the shop, now A&A Tyres and Auto Services First Stop, until two days before he died.
"He loved work, he virtually lived there, and would go in on his days off just to check that the place was still standing," said Ron's daughter Jennine Boon, adding that he also "always supported us, anything we wanted to do, however crazy it was.
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"He was always fair, he never ever complained, and we were in awe of him to be honest. They do not make them like my father anymore.
"He was just a fantastic father and boss. I don’t think we told him enough."
After founding the auto shop, Ron owned eight depots across Wales and ran a wholesale division which imported and exported across Europe and employed more than 140 staff. He was a familiar face to many across the city and in Pontyclun, where he lived.
The shop's manager Craig Williams said Ron would be greatly missed, adding: "I don't know how we're going to cope without him. We’re still expecting him to walk through the door with that cheeky smile on his face.
"It’s a loss that we find difficult to put into words. There’s been a lot of customers in tears, which shows how much he was loved by so many people across the city.
"Ron was a humble man and I don’t think he quite knew how much he was thought of. He leaves a massive hole that will be impossible to fill... We don’t know what we’re going to do without him, but we’ll work harder than ever to preserve an incredible legacy."
Ron's family describe A&A Tyres as his "home," and his house as "just somewhere he slept in" - but, his daughter adds, he was also a fantastic father, grandfather and great-grandfather. She said: "He wasn’t the cuddly-cwtchy grandfather with a kid on his knee but he would do anything for them - the fetching, carrying, running about and paying whenever they’d spent too much.
"They couldn’t want for anything with him. He was a great person for them to look up to - a hard worker, a good, honest and kind family man. He was a great role model for us all, and we could never live up to how he was."
Such was Ron's devotion to his work, he went into the shop on the morning of Monday, November 14, two days before his death. He spent the day working hard and serving customers before he was taken ill and was admitted to hospital.
Ms Boon explained her dad's work ethic: "He worked for his employees and he worked for his family. He obviously loved work but he worked for other people, if that makes any sense.
"He was starting to slow down, because he was 90-miles-an-hour. He’d leave for work at 7am, drive into Cardiff in horrendous traffic, do a nearly 12 hour day and drive home in the traffic, then when I was sitting down watching the telly he would be mowing the lawn."
Ron's work ethic also survives in comments he made in May 2022: "Everybody had to look out for each-other in the RAF and we were all treated as equal. That’s the lesson I took from my time in the Armed Forces. I have always tried to treat my staff as part of a big family and look out for them. Family comes first and it’s important that they know this, and that we can always find a way of making things work out.
"When a customer comes in for some support, I’m just here to help. It does give me a sense of satisfaction when we fix a problem for them, which is one of the reasons why I keep on going.
His selflessness went beyond the workplace too - and Ms Boon recalled one of his more unusual habits: "Every morning he brought me a banana! Because he didn’t want me to fuss and phone every day, I said to call in on his way to work so I’d know he was up and about, and he brought a banana every day.
"I wonder if Marks and Spencer thought he was keeping monkeys at one point because he loved buying bananas and giving them to the family. My sister got a big bunch every weekend!"
Ron was a widower for the last 10 years of his life, following the passing of his childhood sweetheart Moira. Ms Boon described them as "perfect together."
She said: "My mum would bake the cake, he would ice the cake. They would decorate the house together, one would paint and one would hang the wallpaper. They were such a good couple. Good dancers, too - Strictly Come Dancing had nothing on that pair! He would try to teach us and we would never quite manage.
"They were a perfect match, really. A homemaker and a workaholic."
She added: "I've had a lot of my father, 61 years - I'm a very lucky person. We had Sunday lunch together for the last 10 years since my mother died and he would cook it, up until three weeks ago. Everything I did, he accepted. I went to North Korea the year before lockdown and I said: ‘I’m off to North Korea’ and he replied: 'Have a nice time!'"
Ron died on Wednesday, November 16 at the age of 89, after "fighting" to have time to say goodbye to his loved ones. Ms Boon said: "We never thought he was going to die.
"He had skin cancer, he went in for an operation and had most of his ear cut off… the only thing he was worried about was whether he could wear glasses! Whether it did bother him or not, he never ever showed it and he would always joke about things like that. I’m just glad he didn’t suffer, at the end."
Christmas Day, coming up in three weeks' time, will be a chance for Ron's family to remember his life. As one of nine children, Christmas was always special to him growing up, and his house was always decorated with lights and ornaments.
Ron had already ordered this year's turkey - so his tireless efforts to provide for his three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren will still be felt this Christmas after his passing.
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