Longtime Vancouver resident and businessman Howard Whitehead celebrated his 100th birthday Sept. 27.
He attended Vancouver High School and met the love of his life, Helen, at a dance at the Hockinson Grange. They have been married more than 70 years and together raised five sons and live together in an assisted living facility in the Cascade Park area.
Whitehead had a career in automobile sales, first at Rex Motors, then Foley Chevrolet and McCoy Pontiac. In 1970, he started Auto-Rent Cars & Trucks on Second and Broadway in Vancouver, before selling the business to his son Joe in 1994.
He naturally loves cars and collecting models of them. He’s had a lifelong love of fishing, according to his son Cyrus. “He always looked forward to getting up early to go fishing, then coming home to take a nap,” he said.
