TAYLOR, Mich. — 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.
