From a young age, Denny Nusbaum had a major presence in the Philomath business community.
The longtime service garage and gas station owner connected with thousands of people through his work, maintained an active presence in various organizations and was among the local volunteers who hopped in his car and headed to the station when the town’s fire whistle sounded.
Nusbaum died Dec. 16 at age 85 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Chris Nusbaum, one of three children to Denny and Joan Nusbaum, described his father as a “dominant” businessman, a 46-year-run that began in 1959 at age 21 until his retirement in 2005.
“You’ve got to understand, the business models in that day was the individual proprietor,” Chris Nusbaum, a former Philomath mayor, said in a recent interview. “It wasn’t just him but all of the businessmen who had a very strong presence.”
Frank Wren, Aden Schlabach, Dale Collins, Paul Skirvin, Gary Hobin, Jerry Melland, Gary Ferguson, Dave Vincent, Monte and Mabel Boggs — just a few of the names Chris could recall as those that fit the mold.
“Everybody just knew all the businessmen,” Chris said. “The thing is, he was always friends with the other businessmen but he was always the youngest. That’s one thing I do remember even as a very young kid is that all of his friends seemed to be like 10 to 20 years older than him.”
Chris said his dad asked to be cremated and was adamant about not wanting a funeral. At some point in the future, his ashes will be spread at a site to be determined.
“People are just genuinely sad about his passing away because he touched so many people in his 46 years of being in downtown Philomath running his business,” Chris said.
Many folks have come forward with pleasant memories, which Chris said has been therapeutic for his mother, Joan.
“It’s helping my mom cope because she didn’t really truly get a grasp of just how influential and popular of a businessman he was and so when all of these tributes started to come in, she was pleasantly surprised,” Chris said. “My gosh, what a gift, to hear so many wonderful things that people had to say about her husband. So for her, it’s been part of the healing process.”
Dennis Ray Nusbaum was born Nov. 25, 1938, to Earl and Norma Nusbaum and grew up on the family farm just outside Bellfountain — a property that today remains in the family. Denny attended school there up until his senior year when he transferred to Philomath. He graduated with the 31-member Class of 1956 — just a couple of months after the high school building had been destroyed by a fire.
Following graduation, he served for two years in the Army National Guard. He married his girlfriend from high school, Joan Carter, in 1959. Denny and his dad as a joint venture purchased the Standard Oil Service Garage in December 1959. At some point in the following years, Denny bought his dad’s share in the business.
Denny operated Service Garage at 14th and Main from the beginning and in the mid-1960s, he purchased property across the street. During the summer of 1968, two houses were burned down by Philomath firemen to make room for Denny’s Chevron.
Described as a building with “modern design, featuring used brick, glass and metals to give an early American atmosphere,” the new operation that opened in the spring of 1969 also offered propane and a travel trailer holding tank dump station, unique services for the vicinity at the time.
Two years earlier in 1967, Denny and business partners Frank Wren and Dean Tatom went in together on a three-bay self-serve car wash.
In the 1990s, the gas station was rebuilt with a convenience store and a McDonald’s was constructed on what had been a grassy lot in the back. The fast-food restaurant opened in the fall of 1996.
Denny was active in the community with the Philomath Chamber of Commerce, the Philomath Lions Club and as part of various other committees. But his most cherished volunteer position was with the Philomath Fire Department.
“He took that very seriously,” Chris said. “In fact, sometimes as a kid, I’d get a little bit jealous because he’d be at a Little League baseball game, you know, or a family function and the fire whistle would go. And it was always the same — five or six fathers had to leave to answer the call. It didn’t happen very often but when it did, it was a bummer — it’s one of those things when you share your father with the community.”
In 1966, Denny, Joan and family moved to their new home on the Alsea Highway near Rock Creek.
“One of the things you kind of noticed about the businessmen was because they’re on stage all the time in their businesses, it wasn’t uncommon for them to have a nice house out in the countryside to go recharge their batteries,” Chris said.
The rural setting appeared to fit well with Denny’s personal life.
“He valued his privacy, especially after he got out of public service,” Chris said. “But yet whenever he saw a regular customer or they saw him, they would just visit like it was the old days and he just lit up. He just immensely enjoyed visiting with old customers.”
In the years following retirement, Denny spent time with family and traveled with his wife.
In an obituary published Jan. 9 in the Philomath News, there was mention of Denny’s “top secret sausage gravy.” Chris said the gravy became a Christmas morning tradition.
“We would open our presents — all of the immediate family on Christmas morning,” Chris said. “Well what happened is that he always served sausage gravy and it got to the point where everybody wanted to come to the house not because of presents and everything but wanted to savor his sausage gravy.
“We tried to ask for the recipe and he always said ‘Army secret, top secret, can’t share it with you,’” he added. “The sausage gravy recipe, that was always a staple at family get-togethers.”
Nusbaum’s daughter and her boyfriend approached Denny about the recipe, however, and finally got it out of him.
“It’s made in a cast iron skillet and it’s got a little bit of this and basically all kinds of stuff,” he said. “He actually started it out with a full pallet of sausage, cooks it down and goes from there.”
Denny was the oldest of three children. His sister, Beverly King, died in 2021. His brother, Wally Nusbaum, lives in Amity.
“It was a true honor to be the son of an individual like Denny Nusbaum — I think that’s the best way to describe it. Just an honor,” Chris said when asked what he’ll remember most about his father. “I was blessed with a father who was incredibly respected in all aspects of the community where he lived and worked. It was his reputation that helped me achieve my goal of becoming the mayor of Philomath.”
