Donald Barnes Sr., the former owner of Belle Tire who led the company’s growth to a chain of more than 80 stores, died Monday of kidney failure in his Beverly Hills home. He was 83.
Barnes was a Kelly Tire salesman in 1969 before he decided to stop selling tires to Belle Tire and work for the company instead. That year, Barnes bought a stake in the Allen Park-based company, which had opened in 1922.
A decade later, he owned the organization and eventually took Belle Tire from one location and expanded it to 2,000 workers employed at 84 stores in Michigan and northern Ohio.
Belle Tire remains a family-run business with Barnes’ sons Don Barnes Jr. and Robert serving as president and CEO, respectively. Don Barnes III became the third generation of Barnes’ at Belle Tire, becoming operations and marketing manager.
Don Barnes Sr. is survived by his wife, Margaret; three children, Don Jr., Robert and Suzanne; two brothers, Bruce and Bob; and 12 grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be held 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church at 32340 Pierce St. in Beverly Hills.
The family asks that any donations be made to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio, 44195.
