Roger Beasley, a longtime Austin auto dealer and businessman, died Friday, Aug. 28
Courtesy of the Beasley family
Roger Beasley, a longtime Austin automobile dealer who built a three-person operation into a network of dealerships across Central Texas, died Friday at his Austin home. He was 87.
Beasley founded what became the Roger Beasley Auto Group in 1972, beginning with a single dealership on Burnet Road and three employees. Over the next four decades, the business grew to include 13 franchises and 11 dealerships with more than 600 employees, according to his obituary and a professional biography published before his death.
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The Roger Beasley name became particularly associated with Mazda. Beasley was among the automaker’s early U.S. dealers, and the group’s Austin Mazda dealerships became some of the brand’s top-performing locations nationally. Roger Beasley Mazda dealerships continue to operate in Austin and Georgetown.
Beasley was born Nov. 13, 1938. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in business administration and began his career in consumer finance before moving into mortgage banking.
His interest in automobiles eventually drew him into the dealership business.
Roger Beasley, a longtime Austin auto dealer and businessman, died Friday, Aug. 28
Courtesy of the Beasley family
Over his career, Beasley held leadership roles in the automotive industry, including serving as vice president of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association and on dealer advisory councils for several automakers. He also served on the board of JPMorgan Chase, according to his obituary.
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In 2001, Ford Motor Co. recognized Beasley as one of its top 100 dealers worldwide.
His ties to UT extended beyond his time as a student. A life member of the Texas Exes, Beasley supported the university and its athletics programs for decades, including providing vehicles to UT Athletics.
He also established the Alma Beatrice and Finley Floyd Beasley Endowed Scholarship, named for his parents, to help graduates of Llano High School attend UT.
In 2024, Beasley and his family established the Tamra Kay Beasley Endowed Nursing Scholarship at UT’s School of Nursing in memory of his daughter, Tamra Kay Beasley, who preceded him in death.
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Beasley also supported civic and charitable organizations throughout Central Texas, according to his obituary.
Outside of business, his interests included running, skiing, horse racing, whitewater rafting and fishing.
Roger Beasley, a longtime Austin auto dealer and businessman, died Friday, Aug. 28
Courtesy of the Beasley family
Beasley is survived by his wife, Karen Pospisil; grandchildren Carson and Kaylee Bashaw and Avery and Keith Bon; and great-granddaughters Iris Bashaw and Finley Bon.
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Joe K. Longley, president of the Texas State Bar and former Chief of the Antitrust and Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, wrote a tribute to Beasley.
“For a highly successful businessman, Roger was also known as a deeply concerned consumer advocate,” Longley wrote. “His reputation for honesty and fair dealing was legendary.”
A funeral service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 N. Lamar Blvd. in Austin. The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity of the donor’s choice in Beasley’s memory.
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