Earl Dolive Sr.

Earl Dolive, age 95, of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday morning, February 26, 2013.

Earl was well loved by all who knew him. He was caring, generous, thoughtful, and enjoyed life and people to the fullest. Earl was educated at Boys High School in Atlanta and graduated from Emory in 1940 with a degree in Accounting. He has always credited Emory for his successful business career and has been a great supporter of the institution his entire life. He grew up on Ansley Golf Course where he developed his love of golf and was a member of the Emory Golf team.

In 1937 Earl joined Genuine Parts Company but left to serve in the U. S. Army during World War II. He was commissioned as an officer in 1942 and was the chief administrative officer for a hospital with the 20th Air Force in India until his discharge in 1946, at which time he returned to Genuine Parts Company for the remainder of his working career. During his career with Genuine Parts Company, he had worked his way up from a job in the stockroom to head of purchasing in the company’s Charlotte, North Carolina operation. After the war, he worked in Birmingham, Charlotte, and Minneapolis before returning to the Atlanta home office as vice president of finance. Dolive served on the board of Genuine Parts and was elected Vice Chairman in 1974.

Wilton Looney, retired chairman of Genuine Parts Company and close family friend, commented: “Earl Dolive was one of the brightest and most creative executives I have ever worked with. He was not only involved in finance but he had a knack of just taking over any part of the company that he thought needed attention. I learned early in working with him that if he came to me with an idea of a change or something new, to listen well because it was going to be well thought out. In some cases, I learned later that he had already put it into effect before telling me about it. Today many of GPC’s best programs are the result of Earl’s work. His interest was the overall company but his real attention was mainly in customer service and employee relations which, when done well, always makes for a better company. With him in charge of our finance department, I never had a worry. GPC was just plain fortunate to have him on our team.”

In 1989 Earl was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation by the Automotive Hall of Fame for helping to make Genuine Parts Company one of the leading parts distributors in the country. He also served on the boards of Aaron Rents and Greenway Medical Technologies, as well as having an interest in the Atlanta education system, the Goizueta Business School at Emory, the Capital City Club, the Atlanta Country Club (founding member), the Kiwanis Club (longtime member), and many others.

Earl‘s love for Genuine Parts Company was second only to his love of his family and his church, of which he was a member at Peachtree Presbyterian for over fifty years. He was married to the love of his life, Mary Ruth, for 54 years before losing her in 1996. He was also preceded in death by their young daughter Camille in 1943. He is survived by his daughters, Mary Ann Sergan (Charles), Melinda Quigley (Wayne), and his sons, James C. Dolive (Janice) and Earl Dolive, Jr. (Paige). Grandchildren: Steve Sergan, Christopher Dolive, Elizabeth D. Heald, Mary Brittain D. Sharp, Olivia Dolive, Anna Dolive, Jimmy Dolive, Suzanne Dolive, Christina Quigley, Alan Quigley, Mary Camille Quigley; great grandchildren: Ella Heald and William Heald; a brother, Henry Dolive (all from the Atlanta area), as well as a sister, Marcellite Baker, of Winter Park, Florida.

The family will receive visitors on Thursday, February 28, 2013 from 6 to 8 pm at H.M. Patterson & Son Spring Hill Chapel 1020 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30309. The funeral service will be held Friday March 1, 2013 at 2:00pm at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, 3434 Roswell Road, Atlanta, GA 30305, with an additional visitation starting one hour prior to the funeral service. Interment will follow at Arlington MemorialPark.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions can be made to “Emory” for the benefit of the Dolive Family Gift Fund (interventional stroke program): Emory Healthcare Development, 1762 Clifton Rd. NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30322.