Santa Fe car dealer had penchant for community, philanthropy
Former Santa Fe auto dealer Joseph Otto Horace, whose penchant for community, philanthropy and fun made him friends throughout the country, died last month at the age of 88.
Born in Oak Park, Ill., Horace moved to Santa Fe at the age of 54. He made his mark on the City Different during his three decades here, through his ownership of a variety of car dealerships as well as his promotion of the city’s entrepreneurs and artists with personal favors and community activism in groups such as the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and the Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA.
“When he landed in Santa Fe, he fell in love with the city and really embraced the city,” said April Horace, his daughter. Rosemary Horace said her late husband was an avid athlete who was talented enough to ski in college at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he graduated in 1950. Horace served with the U.S. Army in Korea, and in 1954, he returned to the family farm in Elgin, Ill., where he opened his first dealership, Horace Dodge.
Family members recall his love of adventure. Chip Garofalo, his son-inlaw, said Horace climbed the highest peaks in Colorado and was racing skiers down black diamond runs in Santa Fe at age 75. Some 40 years ago, Horace even sailed the Bermuda Triangle. For a time, he went missing, but he returned safely to shore.
“They were looking for him — he was on the boat alone,” Garofalo said. “And when the boat got to shore, it sunk as soon as they found him.”
Prompted by poor economic conditions at the time, Horace sold auto dealerships he owned in Chicago and got a new start in Santa Fe, April Horace said.
Carlos Abeyta said he was a young technician when Horace took over the Dodge-Chrysler dealership in the mid1980s. Abeyta said he was skeptical whether the Chicago transplant was a match for Santa Fe, but the two soon became friends.
Horace embraced his daredevil side for an early sales promotion one weekend in a stunt accompanied by live music — Abeyta recalls Horace setting up a crane outside the dealership on St. Michael’s Drive. Horace took off his suit jacket, loosened his tie a bit and jumped from the crane while attached to a bungee cord. Abeyta called the act a “leap of faith.”
“If that had failed,” Abeyta said of the bungee cord, “he would not have been there for that long.”
Horace eventually owned six dealerships in Santa Fe and two in Farmington, according to family members. He sold them about a decade ago but
remained close to employees. Abeyta said the boss always treated his employees well, helping people out when they were in need and buying turkeys, hams and poinsettias for the holidays.
As for selling cars, Horace would sometimes pull a customer aside when they were on the fence about a purchase and sweeten the deal, Abeyta recalled. Customers in Santa Fe came to recognize his dealerships by an iconic conquistador insignia. He also frequently decorated his dealerships with pieces of art that he would allow artists to use as a down payment for cars, his daughter said.
“And I think that’s the reason a lot of people went to him — because he had that old hometown feel in terms of taking care of customers,” Abeyta said.
A celebration of Horace’s life is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Santa Fe Country Club.