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OBITUARY
MARVIN BOZARTH
Marvin Bozarth, one of the retread indus- try’s foremost experts and a past mana- ging director of the American Retreaders Association (ARA) and executive director of the International Tire & Rubber Asso- ciation (ITRA), died Sept. 1, 2022, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico, Mo. He was 85.
Born Dec. 10, 1936, Bozarth was the youngest child of Ed and Esther Bozarth of Paris, Mo. He was raised on their farm three miles south of Paris on the Elk Fork of the Salt River and attended Oak Ridge Elementary School and later Paris High School. He joined the Army in 1955 and - charge in 1958. For the next seven years, he worked for MFA Oil & Tire Division in Columbia, Mo., responsible for the tyre retread shop.
In March 1962, Bozarth married Donna Lear. They bought a small farm west of Columbia near Midway, Mo., where they lived until he was offered a position at Community Tire Co. in St. Louis. In 1970 they moved to the Ozark Mountains near Potosi, Mo., where Bozarth was employed
by the Purcell Tire & Rubber Co. as plant manager and vice president of production.
Bozarth started his career at ARA in 1988 as technical director and three years later was named the association’s managing di- rector. When the ARA changed its name to ITRA in 1996, Bozarth continued to lead the organisation as executive director ser- ving until 2002. During his tenure at ARA/ ITRA, the association built a new head- quarters and training centre in Louisville, Ky., and greatly expanded and improved its retread and tyre repair training pro- grammes. During this time, Bozarth also served as editor of The Tire Repair & Re- tread Journal and co-authored the book
Bozarth later worked as a consultant for his own company called Tire Analysis, Inc. He was an expert witness in civil court cases involving tyres and retreading for many years. He also was the recipient of many awards and honours during his ca- reer.
In 1995 he was inducted into the Retrea- ders Hall of Fame, in 2003 into the Tire
Industry Hall of Fame and in 2022 was pre- sented the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tire Retreading Sector by Valebrid- ge Media Services in the United Kingdom, - director of Valebridge Media, called Bo- - who contributed hugely to the retreading industry during his career.”
Bozarth enjoyed quail hunting and spen- ding time with his family. He was active in the Baptist church and served as a dea- con. He was well read and very well-tra- veled. He was a light in the life of anyone who knew him, and we will all miss him very much, his family said.
Preceded in death by four brothers, Cly- Madge Tawney, Blanche Jacobs, Jane West, Esther Hatton and Dolly Kiplin- ger, Bozarth is survived by his wife Don- na, children Tina, Ed and Scott, grandson Mitchell, and nieces and nephews too numerous to list.
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