Bob Bordonaro Sr., longtime owner of Hillcrest Volkswagen and Gunny's Lounge, remembered as 'personable guy'
At first, Bob Bordonaro Sr. wasn't too sure about getting into the car business.
It was 1962 when he tagged along with a friend buying a car at Hillcrest Motors in Lower Burrell when the owner at the time encouraged him to work there.
"Meanwhile, he was only 19, just graduated high school and just got married to my mom," said his son, Bob Bordonaro Jr. "He wasn't sure if it was for him or not."
Bordonaro returned to the dealership two days later to pick up the car his friend bought, and the owner again asked if he would work there.
Bordonaro, who had a job making office furniture at the time, eventually agreed to work there. He sold a car on his first day at work.
And the rest is history.
"He came out here and realized what it is like to be in the car business," said Bordonaro Jr., who joined the business with his father and is now the general manager of Hillcrest Volkswagen. "It just lit him up, and he got right into it."
Bordonaro, a longtime Alle-Kiski Valley business owner and family man, died Monday. He was 81.
"My dad was such a personable guy," Bordonaro Jr. said. "You could talk to 1,000 people, and 999 would say they liked him. He got along with everybody."
Bordonaro is survived by his wife of 62 years, Cathy; three children, Bob Bordonaro Jr. of New Kensington, Randy Bordonaro of Arnold and Carrie Caprino of Lower Burrell; and four grandchildren, Randy Bordonaro Jr., Katherine Bordonaro, Cecilia Caprino and Luke Caprino.
"He was a great father," Bordonaro Jr. said. "He was fun and as much of a friend as he was a father. Family was super important to him."
At Hillcrest, Bordonaro worked his way up in the business and purchased it in 1980, renaming the corporation Hillcrest Volkswagen.
Bordonaro Jr. began working at Hillcrest in 1985 and worked side-by-side with his father for about 20 years. Like his father, Bordonaro Jr. sold a car the first day on the job and caught the car salesman bug.
Bordonaro had a favorite saying for his employees, his son said. Salespeople would enter his office with the paperwork ready to make a deal with a customer. Bordonaro would give a certain look and say: "Do the deal."
"He loved the car business. He loved every aspect of it," Bordonaro Jr. said. "He loved dealing with the public. Even when he became the owner, he still sold cars."
In addition to the father-son pair, the family also became immersed in the Hillcrest business. Bordonaro Jr.'s brother-in-law, Wayne Caprino, is a sales manager at the dealership. Randy Bordonaro is a service manager.
"When we tell people we have a family business — we really have a family business," Bordonaro Jr. said.
The father and son also purchased Gunny's Lounge in 1993, Bordonaro Jr. said. The family still owns the business.
Owning Gunny's was another situation where the stars aligned. Bordonaro Jr. recalled grabbing drinks and wings with his father and joking that if the business ever went up for sale, they would buy it. As fate would have it, the establishment went on the market six months after that conversation.
"It was fun for us because it was completely different than (the car) business," Bordonaro Jr. said.
In his free time, Bordonaro was an avid golfer and boater, his son said. He would spend four winter months each year with his wife at a home they purchased in Florida.
The family and the business also have been very active in the city of Lower Burrell and its police department. The notable "anti-drug bug" vehicle for the DARE program was donated by the Bordonaro family. Hillcrest also hosts a Christmas luncheon with city officials, police and first responders.
It's important to the family to support the city and its first responders, Bordonaro Jr. said.
"We loved working with the city, and I plan on continuing doing that," he said.
Viewing will be from 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Ross G. Walker Funeral Home, 217 Freeport Road, New Kensington. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at The River 15068 Church, 273 Chester Drive, Lower Burrell.
