On Saturday, December 10th, friends and family gathered at Northstar Automotive to celebrate Larry Keillor’s retirement. Larry has been a fixture at the auto repair shop for over 70 years!
In 1928, Larry’s father opened up an automotive shop called Bernie’s Service. In 1985, the shop moved its location to 12150 7th Street, Bear Lake, Michigan, and in 1992 was renamed Northstar Automotive. Even with all the changes, the business remained in the Keillor family.
Northstar Automotive is a Certifed Service Center of the Auto Value Network and a family-owned business. Larry, his son Jon, and grandson Kenny, all work there.
Over his 73 years as an automotive technician, he provided expert care and service to countless vehicles and their owners.
The retirement party was supposed to only last a couple of hours, but if you know Larry, it is impossible to not celebrate longer. The community, friends, and family stayed hours after the expected end time, which shows how much people respect and appreciate him and his work.
Many describe Larry as the nicest and most genuine guy you’ll come across. He is loyal to his customers and goes the extra mile for their wants and needs. He never failed to make his customers happy. Even as he got older, before retirement, he was putting in five to six days a week. Larry will truly be missed.
Larry and his family are the genuine real deal. Great people, great family, great customers and are always pleasant and professional. Four generations running the same shop in the same small town is a testament to their legacy, add to this that when I say small, Bear Lake has a population of less than 400 people, so you know they have no room for mistakes in customers service and their 4.9 star rating on Google confirms this.
Terry Collins, General Manager for Auto-Wares
Auto-Wares Group of Companies was happy to attend the retirement party, where Territory Sales Manager, Terry White gifted Larry an award for 70 years of service and partnership, a Standard Ignition Cabinet for his garage, and an Auto Value gift card.
Larry has always been a loyal Auto Value customer and we want to wish him a happy retirement! Thanks for being our customer!
For more information about Northstar Automotive, visit their website: www.northstarautomotiveinc.com
