ASHLAND — Tandy Kemper said his success in business could be summed up in a piece of advice his uncle, Gaylord Kemper, gave him when he was only 15: “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.”
For decades a sign bearing those words hung on the wall of Tandy Kemper Body Shop at 259 Central Ave. in Westwood and, in an interview earlier this year, Kemper credited it with making his business one of the oldest in Boyd County and certainly the oldest to be owned and operated by one person for more than six decades.
“We don’t just do work, we do it right,” Kemper said. “Always have and always will”
Kemper, 81, died Monday.
After learning the trade from his uncle at his body shop on Greenup Avenue, Tandy Kemper opened his body shop in 1947.
Kemper’s death came on the eve of the annual Ashland Christmas Parade in which for decades Kemper and his horses were one of the top attractions, equal to the El Hasa Shrine clowns. While it has been four or five years since he had been in a parade, Kemper said last spring that he was considering a comeback.
“I sold the stage coach and buggy, but I still have an old covered wagon, and of course, I still have the horses,” Kemper said then. “I always enjoyed the parades, and I might just do it again.”
Kemper and his horses also appeared in numerous other area parades over the years.
In addition to doing auto body work, Tandy Kemper Body Shop at its peak also sold used cars and used auto parts, operated a salvage yard and even did some auto repair and towing.
“If it had to do with automobiles, we were involved in it,” Kemper said.
But in recent years, Kemper downsized his business, going from 15 full-time employees to four. The junked cars that once covered most of his 12 acres of land had been reduced to one small lot from which Kemper sold a handful of used parts. His horses grazed on most of the land where the junked vehicles had been.
Kemper’s property originally covered 16 acres. But four acres were deeded to the Ashland National Little League in the early 1990s for its new home field.
Kemper was born in Carter County in 1928 but moved to Boyd County in 1936. In more recent years, he made his home in Flatwoods.
Despite his age, Kemper said last spring that he had no intention of retiring.
“My father retired from Armco Steel at 60 and died at 66,” he said. “I decided then and there that retirement wasn’t for me. I have to stay active. This is the only life I know. I know automobiles and I know horses.”
Kemper was a 55-year member of Rush Lodge 715 F & AM, a 32nd degree Mason and a member of El Hasa Shrine. He was a member and treasurer of Ashland Baptist Church.
Among his survivors are his wife of 45 years, Judy Evans Kemper.
Kemper’s funeral will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Caniff Funeral Home. Burial will be in Smith-Claxon Cemetery in Hopewell.
Local News
Body shop owner Tandy Kemper dies
- Local News
-
-
Waiting at her crossroads
A Carter City widow has waited at her crossroads home for a state program to clean up contaminated fuel tanks and soil, and bring to a close a bureaucratic mess that has spanned 20 years.
-
HIGH ACHIEVERS
Scholars and soccer. At Ashland Blazer, that’s quite a match.
-
McConnell optimistic about GOP
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s never seen a more favorable political environment for his party than in this year’s elections and he expects “I’ll be the leader of a larger army” after the Nov. 2 elections.
-
POLICE BEAT: Tree trimmer falls to his death
Eric W. Luther, 35, of Ashland, was in the top of a tree removing limbs when he accidentally fell, according to the APD. The incident occurred about 2:10 p.m. in the 2400 block of Forest Avenue.
-
Ricky Skaggs comes home for show in Louisa
Even though people around the world know Ricky Skaggs for his incredible musical abilities, he is well aware of the fact that he must be at his absolute best when he takes the stage in Louisa Saturday evening during the city’s annual Septemberfest celebration.
-
MARK MAYNARD: Jack Miller’s intriguing life story
Jack Miller’s name may not resonate with too many in the Ashland area.
-
Fatality one of 5 in state over weekend
A fatal traffic accident in Greenup County on Sunday was one of five that occurred in Kentucky during the Labor Day weekend.
-
Tiles for 9-11
The three children at one table in Bethany Hale’s kindergarten classroom all painted the twin towers in chocolate brown acrylic with double rows of dots representing windows.
-
Marajuana bust made in Russell
A parking complaint led to the discovery of a sizable indoor marijuana-growing operation by Russell police on Tuesday.
-
Extension to consider arts center
Some Catlettsburg residents hope to start a fine arts center and a restoration movement within the city in one stroke.
- More Local News Headlines
-
