Chester E. Taurence, the founder and chairman of Taylor, Mich.-based
Painters Supply & Equipment (PSE), died last week at the age of 92.
Chet, as he was known in the business, founded PSE in 1952 after
graduating from Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte and serving in the
Army during World War II. PSE’s first location was in Lincoln Park, and
Chet quickly expanded throughout Southeast Michigan, opening locations
in Garden City, East Detroit, Pontiac and Warren, and soon into Ohio
with a store in Toledo.
Today, PSE has 20 locations throughout Michigan and Ohio and is one of
PPG’s largest single-line distributors in North America. PSE President
Patrick Mayette noted that even in his later years, Chet still stopped
by the office almost daily, and remembered Chet for “his integrity in
running the business and his generosity to his employees.”
“As we move forward at Painters Supply, Chet’s influence will always be
with us,” said Mayette. “His philosophy for the company stayed
consistent from the very beginning: ‘To offer quality products at
competitive prices; provide the customer with the best training and
support; keep up with changing technology; and serve the customer as
they like to be served.’ This vision created the solid foundation for
Painters Supply and Chet’s legacy will live on through all of our
employees as we carry on the lessons he taught us.”
In Chet’s time, PSE took home many awards, most notably the Automotive
Wholesaler Achievement Award from Automotive Body Repair News in 1986
and the PPG Platinum Distributor of the Year in 2000.
Chet is survived by his son, William, his daughters, Joanne Diersch,
Susan Shafer and Kathleen Lowlor, five grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren.
