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Robert
W. McConkey, Sr., Friend and Industry Pioneer, Passes Away at 84
Robert
W. McConkey, Sr., past president of the National Auto Auction Association,
passed away on May 23 in Livingston, Montana at the age of 84. He is the
father of current NAAA President, ServNet Chairman, and DAA Northwest
owner Robert McConkey, Jr.
McConkey was born December 31, 1924 to Clarence and
Caroline (Woods) McConkey in Seattle, Wash. His parents passed away when he was
young, so he was raised by his aunt Elsie and uncle Fred Woods on a cattle
ranch near Kamloops, B.C. It was there that he learned to hunt, which became a
lifelong passion.
On December 7, 1941, when he was seventeen,
McConkey enlisted with the United States Navy. He became a tail gunner, and
later a pilot of a PBY2A flying boat, in the South Pacific. With his sharp
shooting abilities, he scored many military hits and received several air
medals.
After his discharge, he returned to find that his
uncle Fred had to sell his ranch, so McConkey opened a small saw mill near
Kamloops. Later he worked on the Grand Coolee Dam as a construction
worker.
On June 24, 1953, he married Helen Hofmann in
Moscow, Idaho. The couple moved to Seattle where they opened South Seattle Auto
Auction in 1954. First through struggles and then success, he owned and
operated the auction for 31 years until its sale to GE Capital in 1985. An auto
auction industry pioneer, he served as president of the National Auto Auction
Association in 1976-77.
In 1997, McConkey moved to Livingston for the
hunting and fishing, and for a lifestyle closer to his roots in Canada. Always
determined and persistent, he worked as a sales representative for DAA
Northwest, his son Bob, Jr.'s auto auction in Spokane, traveling the state of
Montana and bringing a chuckle and a smile to all of his car dealer
friends.
McConkey is survived by his wife Helen G. McConkey
of Des Moines Washington and four children: Robert McConkey, Jr.; Fred
McConkey, Carol Christianson, and Kathy Myers. Also surviving is his friend
Carmen Gutknecht and seven grandchildren, Fred, Jr.; Angie; Ellie; Aaron;
Brian; Collin; and Kara; and one niece and two nephews. He
will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Flowers and messages came from
auctions, industry personnel and businesses from all over the country, who
remembered McConkey fondly for his friendship and many years of service to
the industry.
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