“Mom and Dad moved to Chicago in 1959 from Erie, Pennsylvania,” said Guy’s elder son, Dan Pascale, who joined the family business in 1974. “Dad worked for Earl Scheib.”

In those days, the Earl Scheib franchises specialized in repainting automobiles and repairing them after collisions. They were known for the catchphrase, “We’ll paint any car, any color, for $29.95.” Guy was responsible for opening all the Earl Scheib shops in Chicago.

“Dad wanted to go out and do his own thing, so in 1962 he rented a little three-car shop,” said Dan. “It was a horse barn that was converted to a garage.”

That shop was located behind Roosevelt Road and Miller Street, where Guy’s Auto Rebuilders quickly earned its reputation for doing a good job at a fair price.

Dan would come in on Saturdays and days off from school to learn how to paint.

“His landlord was Roosevelt Glass, and that was a nice tie-in,” Dan continued. “And there was a used car lot on Miller Street and Roosevelt Road. Dad bought these old junkers and would paint them, fix them up and put them on the lot, so off the bat he had an instant clientele and developed relationships with some of the insurance companies.”

Dan’s brother, Tom Pascale, remembers being in that shop at age 6.

“I remember my dad bringing me down and sitting me on a stool with this propane heater, and he actually had charcoal burning,” said Tom. He recalled working weekends starting at age 14.

Neither brother actually had planned to work in the family business. Dan joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating high school in 1969.

“I loved it,” he said. “I met my wife in the Air Force, and I wanted to stay after three years. But Dad got sick and needed an operation, and he wanted me back in the shop. And that’s how I came back, and it ran off from there.”