Longtime Georgia seller Jim Ellis, founding father of his namesake auto group, died Friday at his Duluth, Ga., dwelling, simply weeks after his son Jimmy Ellis, the corporate’s CEO, died, the Ellis household mentioned.

Jim Ellis was 90. No reason behind demise was shared.

All Jim Ellis Automotive places will shut Wednesday for his funeral, in accordance with posts on the corporate’s web site and Fb web page.

“Mr. Ellis leaves behind an enduring legacy as a Christian, enterprise chief, pal and servant within the Atlanta group and within the automotive business,” the household wrote in an announcement. “Little did he know that his sacrifice 51 years in the past, placing all he had on the road to open a Volkswagen dealership in Chamblee, would repay in a means that would offer jobs for nearly 1,700 Atlanta-area residents and end in tens of millions of {dollars} contributed to individuals in want in metro Atlanta communities.”

Born Jan. 5, 1932, Jim Ellis labored a spread of jobs in his youthful years, together with insurance coverage, farm work, a milk and paper route and as a jail foreman, in accordance with his obituary.

After learning enterprise in faculty and serving two years within the U.S. Military, Ellis finally ended up within the automotive world working for Normal Motors. He and his spouse of 69 years, Billie Sammons Ellis, who he’s survived by, cashed of their financial savings, her retirement fund and took out a mortgage to open their first dealership, Jim Ellis Volkswagen, in 1971.

That dealership grew into many, and Jim Ellis Automotive now sells 17 manufacturers of cars throughout the higher Atlanta space. Jimmy Ellis took over as CEO of the corporate in 2015 till his demise Nov. 5. He was 67.

Jim Ellis is also survived by two daughters who maintain company officer roles throughout the firm, which in an announcement mentioned is now being led by a 3rd technology of members of the family following the deaths of the 2 leaders.

Philanthropy additionally was vital to Jim Ellis. Greater than $50 million has been donated to Atlanta space organizations by the Jim and Billie Ellis Basis.

Their son Greg Ellis, who had schizophrenia, died in 2000 at age 40. The identical month their son died, the Ellises created the muse that distributes annual presents to charities, together with these benefiting psychological well being.

“We get pleasure from doing it,” Ellis instructed Automotive Information in 2013. “You do not do it for the popularity however for the satisfaction of seeing how some individuals reply to what you give them to fill that want.”