Longtime car dealership owner Gary Pusey loved boating on the yacht he restored, but he was happiest being with his family and making friends.

“He was a people person without a doubt. He loved talking to people. He was the kind of person who could go out of town and make friends good enough to have dinner with them. That’s the way he was,” said his son Dale, the middle child in a family of three boys, who worked with Pusey at the car lot.

Pusey, the 64-year-old Salisbury resident and owner of Gary Pusey’s Quality Cars, set a fine example for his children.

“He taught me so much, everything from selling cars to snow plowing. At our business, we plow snow. Mostly, he taught me to keep family close. He was a big family man. That was the most important thing.  Keep everybody together.  Look out for each other,” his son said.

“He called me and my brothers the Three Musketeers,” Dale Pusey said, explaining he and his older brother are the third-generation in the car business. Gary Pusey also had a third son, Tim.

Throughout the community, their father was appreciated for helping others, through his involvements, by organizing benefits and often aiding those who couldn’t afford a car.

“We finance people ourselves on certain cars,” his son said.

“Boating was a big part of his life. He had an older yacht he fixed up and he lived there part time and full time in the summer,” his said about his father, who retired a couple of years ago after becoming ill.

Pusey was also known for his business’ unique advertising, especially his radio commercials, in which he was the spokesman.

A funeral for Pusey was held Sunday, and there he was remembered for his early interest in selling automobiles.

According to his self-written obituary, Pusey began working for Pat Cavanaugh of Cavanaugh Ford in 1969. He had been at the business since he was 14, washing cars, changing tags and working in the service and parts departments.

When Cavanaugh let him start selling cars, as his father had done, Pusey was successful. Soon he opened Gary G. Pusey and Sons Inc., now Gary Pusey's Quality Cars.

He also developed Meadow Bridge Manor and Meadow Bridge Mini-Storage.

His many memberships included Trinity United Methodist Church, the original Pastoral Board at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Independent Automobile Dealers Association, Maryland Towing and Recovery Professionals, Moose Lodge 654, Red Men's Lodge 149 and Crisfield American Legion Post 16.

In the obituary, Pusey wrote that he always enjoyed “helping the Fruitland Volunteer Fire Department … and  hosting an annual Halloween hay ride for kids” at his farm.

The highlight of his free time was joining his wife, Lisa, aboard their boat, Car Biz.

“I’d like to see him be remembered as a family man,” Dale Pusey said. “He was an asset to the community and he was a real benefit to Fruitland.”