BOCA RATON — Automobile dealer Ed Morse, 91, died of natural causes Friday in Boca Raton.
Mr. Morse was chairman and founder of Ed Morse Automotive Group, which began in 1946 when he started a small car rental company with his father. That company grew and then merged with National Car Rental, where Morse was an executive.
In 1961, he bought into his first dealership in Miami. Now, the business is in five counties, offering 10 brands at 15 locations served by more than 1,000 employees.
Mr. Morse is survived by his wife, Carol; five great-grandchildren; two sisters, Nancy Stringer and Pricilla Ropp; and brother-in-law Jack Stringer. He was a brother of the late Alex Morse, who died in 2007.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his name to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or The Lupus Foundation of America.