One of Tucson's first Hispanic car dealers died Monday after fighting brain cancer for eight months.
Oscar Vicente Campos, 65, owner of Thoroughbred Nissan, was one of two Hispanic new-car dealers operating in Tucson and was very involved in the community.
His friends and competitors at other dealerships said they looked up to the man known by his slogan, "Because Oscar wouldn't have it any other way."
They said they respected him as someone who started in the business as a car salesman and wound up owning his own dealership.
"Oscar worked his way up in the car business with the power of that personality," said longtime friend Tony Ronstadt, who works in dealer financing at Chase Bank. "He made your life better when you were around him because he loved living so much."
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He also dedicated himself to the community, said car dealer Jim Click.
"Oscar gave in a very quiet, unassuming way," Click said. "Oscar never said no."
Campos went to visit his daughter in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., several weeks ago but was unable to return to Tucson because of his health, Ronstadt said.
He was a mentor to Edmund Marquez, who owns Edmund Marquez Suzuki. The two met while Marquez was an insurance agent, before he owned a car dealership. He sold car insurance to those who purchased cars and needed insurance before driving off the lot.
He said Campos "paved the way" as a Peruvian for Marquez, a Mexican-American, to own a dealership here.
Marquez said it is sad to see Campos pass away during construction to remodel and expand Thoroughbred.
Campos was born in El Alto, Peru, where he developed a love of horses. He continued that pastime even after moving to Tucson to finish his master's degree in civil engineering at the University of Arizona. Campos had a ranch in Arivaca with 50 thoroughbred horses, Ronstadt said.
He started working as a salesman and later a manager at O'Rielly Chevrolet in 1970 before moving over to Thoroughbred as a used- and new-car manager in 1980. He became a co-owner of what was then Thoroughbred Datsun in 1985. He became full owner in the late 1990s when his partner in the business died of cancer, said Yvette Hooley, Campos' daughter.
Campos' son, Oscar A. Campos, is general manager at the dealership.
Campos is also survived by two siblings, six grandchildren, his former wife of 35 years, Yvonne Campos, and wife Teresa Aguero.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1800 N. Camino Pio Decimo in Tucson.
"Oscar gave in a very quiet, unassuming way.
Oscar never said no."
Jim Click, fellow Tucson auto dealership owner
