William T. Rabara

1948 - 2023

News story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

William T. Rabara, who paid heed to business currents and owned a quick oil-change shop and video rental stores as those trends gained momentum, died Sunday in the rehabilitation center at Manor of Perrysburg. He was 75.

He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his son Tim Rabara said. He'd been under hospice care at home in Temperance. He remained active until the last year.

In June, his friends from the St. Francis de Sales High School class of 1966 convened their monthly luncheon get-together at his place. They brought the food.

"It was amazing. He felt so loved and cared for," his son said.

He grew up in a family business. His parents for decades owned and operated the Dairy Queen in the Trilby neighborhood of West Toledo. For much of the 1970s, he'd worked for the dental equipment arm of McKesson Co. He worked in design at first.

"His boss liked him and took him on the road and introduced him to clients. They liked him right away," the younger Mr. Rabara said. "My dad was charismatic. He'd call himself a mixer. He'd mix with any crowd. His boss noticed that in him."

In 1976, he was appointed technical sales and service manager for the firm and relocated to near Charleston, S.C. The job involved travel.

"The road life was too hard on the family," his son said. The family returned north and settled in Temperance. He bought property at Douglas and Alexis roads and in 1979 opened Exper-tune, which offered quick oil changes, but also auto repair.

"He had that entrepreneurialism in his blood. He was always looking at trends. He noticed that the 10-minute oil change was a thing," the younger Mr. Rabara said.

He admitted to Jim Arnovitz, his friend since they were 15 years old, that he didn't know about oil changes. And he wasn't concerned.

"'I'll just hire the right people,'" he told his friend. "He hired the right people all right," said Mr. Arnovitz, who also was his brother-in-law. "You have to understand, he was a really smart guy."

Health concerns led him to sell the shop in 1988. He caught another trend - videotape rentals.

He opened Premier Video, with a store in Temperance, which he operated, and another in Lambertville, which his wife, Kathy, oversaw.

"His philosophy was all customer service. He had a whole system he developed on how to do reservations. A lot of places wouldn't," the younger Mr. Rabara said. "People loved that. That was his competitive advantage."

Through the store, he got to know his Bedford Township neighbors.

"Even now, at his passing, so many people have reached out to me and my siblings and said he was so fun and 'renting videos was so much a part of my growing up,'" his son said. He didn't make the switch to DVDs, closing the Lambertville store in 1998 and the Temperance store - half of which he had turned into a mini-mart - in 2001.

He liked to hunt for and collect antiques - especially those with a connection to American history. He enjoyed fishing with his children and with friends.

Despite personal loss, he had a positive outlook.

"He was devoutly Catholic, but beyond the religious aspect, he trusted in God and knew he wasn't alone," his son said. "He always said to me, 'As bad as you think you're having it, it could be worse.'"

He was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Temperance.

He was born May 30, 1948, to Josephine and Vendell "Bill" Rabara. After graduating from St. Francis, he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Toledo and worked at Haughton Elevator.

He and the former Kathleen Danford married Oct. 2, 1971. She died Oct. 6, 2010. Their son Jay died at age 16 in a car crash.

Surviving are his sons Bill Rabara and Tim Rabara; daughter, Joanna Deck; sister, Mary Jo Bedal, and eight grandchildren.

A celebration of life event will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday in Trilby Hall, 5745 Gay St., where family and friends will gather after 1 p.m. Arrangements are by American Cremation Events, Toledo.

The family suggests tributes to a charity of the donor's choice.