Ernest "Ernie" Gus Paulos, 80, well-known automobile dealer for 42 years in Magna and West Valley City, died Jan. 18, 1999, of emphysema at his West Valley home.
Mr. Paulos was a 20-year-old business and administration student at what was then Utah State Agricultural College in Logan when his father, Gus A. Paulos, a Greek immigrant and automobile dealer in Magna, was killed in a car accident in 1938.He took over the family business, Paulos Auto Co., which had opened in 1922 in Magna, being joined later by a brother, Peter.
In 1976 the two brothers moved the Chevrolet dealership to what is now West Valley City. They continued to operate the business until their retirement in 1980. The automobile dealership, Gus Paulos Chevrolet, is now owned and operated by a son, Gus E. Paulos.
Born in Salt Lake City and reared in Magna, Mr. Paulos received many national awards for auto sales and service. He was a 32nd-degree Mason, a long-time member of the Salt Lake and Magna Chambers of Commerce and a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.
He had also been active in banking and real estate.
Mr. Paulos was drafted in the Army in 1942 but ended up in the Navy, training recruits.
To keep the General Motors franchise while her husband was in the military, Mr. Paulos' wife, Katherine, ran the dealership as a Firestone and convenience store, where she sold all types of merchandise.
A visitation will be Thursday, Jan. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. and from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, when a prayer service is scheduled at Evans and Early Mortuary, 574 E. 100 South. The Rev. John Kaloudis of the Greek Orthodox Church will officiate. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery.