Casey Jarvis, JARCO‘s founder, died on July 10, at age 86. He is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the design, manufacturing, and service of truck-mounted tanks for the propane delivery industry.
Trained as an engineer, Jarvis began his career in 1947 as a salesman with Superior Tank Co. in Southern California. In 1959, he founded JARCO to provide custom delivery trucks to propane retailers and independent marketers. Today, the company, a division of Polar Service Centers (PSC), has produced more than 5,000 trucks for customers in more than 20 countries.
As it grew, JARCO remained very much a family business.
"It was a rite of passage for Jarvis children to ride along with Dad when he delivered a bobtail to a customer," said Nancy Coop, Jarvis's daughter and owner/president of JARCO from 2005 to 2010. "We all shared his commitment to building the best product for the customer and making JARCO a great place to work."
"Casey's expertise, insight, and creativity set standards for the propane transportation industry for more than 50 years," said Mike Evans, president and CEO of Polar Service Centers. "He never compromised on quality or customer service. It's been a privilege to be associated with Casey and to carry on his high principles."
Jarvis's mark on the industry includes longtime leadership roles in the National Propane Gas Association and Western Propane Gas Association. For his dedication to the industry, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the WPGA in 2007.
Jarvis was preceded in death three months earlier by his wife, Helen. He is survived by four children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held in his hometown, Corona del Mar, Calif. As a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, military honors were bestowed.