Bruce Salzman, a talented entrepreneur, optimist, and devoted husband and father, died January 10, at age 71, at his home in Santee. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Joanne, his sons Larry and Brian, his granddaughter Mylene, and his brothers Gregg and Scott.
Born in Brooklyn, he grew up in the idyllic Lake Hiawatha
suburb of New Jersey in the 1950s and 60s, where he loved to bowl and play
pinball and embarked on what he often described as a wild youth. He got an early start in business selling
plastics to stores in New York City and in the dry cleaning business with his
father. He married his wife Joanne and
soon had two sons.
His young bride and family moved with him to California in
1975 to start a new life, where he launched a nearly 30 year career in the
automotive business. He proved an
exceptional salesman and manager, rising from used car salesman to become a
celebrated sales and general manager of several San Diego car dealerships. He loved training others and passing along
his skills. He struck out on his own in
1986 to buy Hilltop Tire Center in La Mesa, which became the “family business.” He grew it to three stores and more than 60
employees—his wife, sons, in-laws, and other extended family worked at the
business over the years. His father-in-law, Larry Larkin, was an integral part
of the business. As the family prospered, Bruce and Joanne
traveled around the world and particularly loved island locations. Bruce
served on the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce for many years and enjoyed being a
part of the community.
He felt betrayed when the City of La Mesa took his Hilltop
Tire Center’s largest store by eminent domain to make way for Costco. An ensuing legal battle over the project
lasted for years, causing the end of the business and wiping out the family’s
nest-egg on the cusp of a planned early retirement. Undefeated, he poured his characteristically
inexhaustible energy into a new business with his wife and son Larry. The business succeeded beyond their hopes
within a few years, becoming one of the three largest online retailers of
prepaid telecom in the United States, returning the family to financial
security. Bruce and Joanne dreamed of a
home near the beach and built it in Carlsbad in 2008 upon their retirement. They soon sold the house, however, because
they missed being nearer to Joanne's family and to their granddaughter Mylene, who
had become their greatest source of joy in recent years. They created a home at Sky Ranch in Santee
and Bruce often remarked that the friendships he developed with neighbors there
made it the best place he lived during his adult life. He liked to drive Jaguars and kept a game
room with a pool table, pinball, and a jukebox that reminded him of his youth.
He will be remembered as a nurturing, kind, and productive
man. He was tremendously committed to
his family and he admired independence and ambition in others. People often remarked that he had a good sense of
joy and humor. He boasted often during
his life that he would live to 100 because many in his family lived well into
their 80s and 90s, but he was diagnosed with a lung disease shortly after
retirement and it was not to be. At a
New Years’ Eve dinner just before his death he expressed disappointment that he
would not live as long as he hoped, but that he felt blessed by all he had
achieved and the love he felt from and for his friends and his family.
