Cornell Babie sold his first car when he was just 15 and went on to own one of the biggest and most successful car dealerships in Victoria. He died Oct. 12, just two weeks shy of his 86th birthday.
Born in Mundare, Alta., on Oct. 28, 1932, Babie had an early affinity for the automotive business, selling his first car when he was still in high school.
His first General Motors car dealership was in Peace River, Alta.
He moved to Victoria in 1969, purchasing Morrison Chev Olds, which was at the corner of Douglas Street and Finlayson Street, and renaming it Cornell Chevrolet Oldsmobile Cadillac.
He sold the franchise to Dave Wheaton in 2006. After Wheaton moved out, the property went to Jim Pattison in 2012 and currently houses a Toyota/Lexus franchise.
“He was a good competitor and a perfect gentleman to deal with,” said Wheaton, dealer principal of the General Motors franchise that bears his name. “He was a straight shooter — what you saw was what you got.”
He was also an astute businessman. He bought a vacant lot on Blanshard Street at Finlayson where he stored his inventory before building a Holiday Inn that opened in 1987 on the property, now a Comfort Inn.
Away from the dealership showroom, Babie was a family man married for 55 years to wife Yvonne. He was predeceased by a son, Todd, who passed away in 2013, and survived by his daughter Nikki, who remembers her father as a “down-to-earth type of person” who enjoyed spending weekends with the family.
“I can still remember dad renting a motorhome and the whole family spending a month on the road,” said Nikki, adding her father was also a fitness enthusiast who earned a black belt in karate and later operated a karate school.
In his younger years, he would be seen frequently jogging along the trail around Cedar Hill Golf Course.
Babie also amassed a collection of around 300 helmets from the First and Second World Wars, with 50 to 60 exceptional examples, said Nikki.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today at St. Nicholas Church, 1110 Caledonia Ave. Parking passes are available at the door.
In lieu of flowers, people are encouraged to donate to the Victoria Humane Society or Wild ARC of Victoria — Babie was a cat lover with more than a few sharing his house over the years.
