Wichita, Kan., Auto Dealer Don Schmid Dies at Age 79.(Originated from The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)

Jun. 14--Donald A. Schmid loved cars and the freedom to travel that they represented.

"He was a left-of-mainstream kind of guy," said his daughter Pam Bjork on Tuesday. "He would overcome any kind of obstacle. The word 'can't' didn't exist in his vocabulary."

Mr. Schmid, president and founder of Don Schmid Motor Inc., a Dodge dealership at 3205 S. Broadway, died Monday of natural causes at age 79.

If you had an idea, Bjork said, and went to him with it, he would probably delegate it to you to get it done. He taught her to read a financial statement when she was 12, she said.

Mr. Schmid showed his early entrepreneurial spirit when he was 9 years old, …