Thomas Jasper “T” Beroth, Jr., owner of Stokes Tire & Automotive in King, North Carolina, passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by his loving family after a two-year battle against ALS. He was 65 years old, according to his obituary.
“T,” as his family and friends called him, owned and operated Stokes Tire for 44 years, where he grew the business to seven other locations as part of the Mock-Beroth Tire Group. The group as a whole has 12 shops in North Carolina.
“He was proud of working alongside his father, son and nephew,” his obituary says. “He was an excellent businessman who was known for running a tight ship.”
Stokes Tire is a family business in all aspects. When “T” graduated from college, he joined his father, Tom Beroth, Sr., and the Mock family in the tire industry and worked hard to expand the business’s footprint. Currently, Beroth’s son, TJ, is a manager at Stokes Tire and said the secret to “T’s” success was that he genuinely cared.
“In our industry, if it’s not between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., some shops aren’t concerned [about their customers], but he [“T”] was one of those guys that served people, no matter what time it was. He gave his cell phone number out to everybody. It didn’t matter what time it was, he was going to help if he could,” TJ Beroth said.
Due to his connections in the tire industry and involvement with other North Carolina tire dealers, “T” was recruited and became president of the North Carolina Tire Dealers Association (now the Automotive Service and Tire Alliance as of 2020) from 2015 to 2017.
Reece Hester, associate executive director of The Automotive Service and Tire Alliance, praised “T” saying, “He was a very smart businessman. He was full of knowledge of the tire industry and the people within the industry in a big way. You could ask him something and he would just know. He was very humble yet at the same time, his business acumen was second to none, and he was very well respected in our industry.”
“T” was a religious man who, in his free time volunteered at Christian faith-based charities, was on multiple boards with Young Life Ministry and worked to get other businesses like his to donate to causes.
His son TJ Beroth used this verse to represent his father, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”
“T” leaves behind his wife of 40 years, Linda Johnson Beroth, and his children, Thomas J. Beroth III (TJ) and Olivia and Crystie Beroth Strawbridge and Mike and their children.
When speaking about the Beroth family, Hester said, “They’ve been very successful, [do business with] integrity, and they certainly have community respect from those that did business with them. They’re very honest people, and they do what they said they will do. They follow through.”
Memorial contributions may be made to Young Life of the Foothills (Young Life NC89), https://giving.younglife.org/s/, Post Office Box 327, Mount Airy, NC 27030; or Jefferson Christian Church, 8200 Jefferson Church Road, Rural Hall, NC 27045, http://jeffersonchurch.org/giving.
