William McIntosh Jr., inveterate entrepreneur

Walk into the Kirkland Chrysler-Jeep dealership past the lobby filled with salespeople and customers, almost all of whom are white. The business offices in the bowels of the building, however, belong to Black Enterprise Central.

That's where William "Mac" McIntosh Jr. ruled as the president and chief executive officer of the Totem Lake auto dealership.

Mr. McIntosh died Wednesday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest while flying home with his wife and son from a business trip to Las Vegas. He was 59.

Mr. McIntosh was an inveterate entrepreneur who was one of the largest Chrysler-Jeep dealers in the Pacific Northwest. He also operated a real-estate company with his sons and was the sole owner of the Puget Sound Jets, a semi-professional football team.

Kirkland Chrysler-Jeep did $48 million in sales last year, ranking it 63rd on Black Enterprise magazine's list of the 100 largest black-owned auto dealers in the country. Mr. McIntosh once ranked as high as No. 13. While his sales have risen steadily, faster-growing minority dealerships have surpassed him. The Kirkland dealership sells 1,200 new vehicles and 700 used vehicles a year.

In the 1980s, Chrysler's former Chairman Lee Iacocca chose Mr. McIntosh to lead the automaker's minority-dealership-development program. Mr. McIntosh helped to place Chrysler's first 24 minority dealers and himself became the 25th by taking over North Seattle Chrysler-Plymouth. He bought the Kirkland dealership in 1995.

Mr. McIntosh was born June 13, 1943, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Ernest and Thelma Mae McIntosh and grew up in south Minneapolis. He earned an associate's degree in economics from McAlester College in St. Paul, Minn., and a master's in business administration from the University of Minnesota.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965 and served in Vietnam as a sergeant with the Third Division, based in Da Nang.

Mr. McIntosh and his wife, Helen, were married for 27 years. He had two daughters and three sons.

Mr. McIntosh was a barrel-chested man of outsized emotions and charisma. Within weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. McIntosh had a mural painted over the entryway to his dealership. Passing motorists can't miss the sign reading "Freedom must be defended" flanked by an eagle and an American flag.

Brian McIntosh, his second child and oldest son, said Mr. McIntosh commissioned the work as a defiant gesture against terrorism.

Brian McIntosh, 26, is the dealership's finance manager. He also once played wide receiver for the Puget Sound Jets. Brian said his father relished giving players a chance to experience sports at a professional level.

Brian McIntosh will succeed his father at the helm of the dealership but said all of his family members will be involved in carrying on the business.

Brian McIntosh and his mother were on the flight back to Seattle with Mr. McIntosh when he collapsed. The pilots made an emergency landing in Portland. Mr. McIntosh died at the airport.

Mr. McIntosh's first born, Tambra, said her father was a dominant, strong character who could erupt in anger and calm down just as quickly. He also was a generous patron of causes small and big, whether vouching for a job-seeker or serving on former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice's small-business task force or numerous other civic organizations.

Another son, Blair McIntosh, said his father tried to impart his abundant self-confidence, telling his children not to let fear hold them back.

"He never pushed too hard," Blair said. "He left it open enough for you to make your own decision."

In addition to his wife, Tambra, Brian and Blair, Mr. McIntosh is survived by another daughter, Monica, and his youngest son, Blake, as well as a granddaughter.

Visitations will be held Thursday, Nov. 14, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Southwest Mortuary in Seattle. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Seattle's Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Kyung M. Song can be reached at 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com.