NORTHEAST HARBOR – Kathleen “Casey” Favour, 58, passed away peacefully Friday, March 18, 2011, after a long illness. She was born Sept. 20, 1952, in Chandler, Ariz., to Robert Phelps and Virginia “Cornwall” Randall.
The daughter of an Air Force fighter pilot, Kathleen moved around the country to many military bases as a child. She graduated from San Gorgonio High School, San Bernardino, Calif., in 1970. After graduation she moved with her parents to Japan where her father was assigned. There she spent several years before returning to Tucson, Ariz., where she entered the automotive industry. Kathleen later moved to San Diego where in 1980 she began work at University Ford, which had been recently purchased by an automobile dealer from Indianapolis. From that point, the two began a partnership that during the next 27 years would build the largest automobile group in Southern California. She worked tirelessly in the acquisition of automobile dealerships, new automobile legislation and other philanthropic endeavors. Casey once said that she was the highest-ranking female member of the “Good Old Boys Club” that was the automotive industry. Her husband says that she was on a first name basis with anyone in San Diego that had power, influence and wealth, as well as many Washington, D.C., legislators and Detroit and Japanese auto manufacturing executives. She had a remarkable career. It was also in 1980 that she met John Favour of San Diego and Northeast Harbor. The two were married in summer 1982 in Thuya Gardens, but spent the next 29 years in San Diego. They vacationed as often as possible in Northeast Harbor and in 2009 moved permanently back to that village away from the rigors of life in the fast lane. Kathleen was a self-confessed “tree loving bunny hugger.” She never met one of God’s creatures that she did not love, except for maybe spiders. Although she had no children, she was a nurturing mother to many dogs and cats and agonized when it was their time to pass on. She loved the water and spent as much time as possible on her boat during the limited Maine boating season. She was a member of St. Mary’s and St. Jude’s Episcopal Church, Northeast Harbor.
In addition to her husband, Kathleen is survived by her mother, Virginia Randall of Redlands, Calif.; a sister, Rebecca Zeidler and her husband, Gary, of San Bernardino, Calif.; a brother, Robert P. Randall Jr. of Camarillo, Calif.; and two nieces, Erika Zeidler-Taylor of San Bernardino, Calif., and Jacqui Randall of Camarillo, Calif. Her father, Robert P. Randall, predeceased her in 1992.
In keeping with Kathleen’s wishes, there will be no memorial service. A private graveside ceremony will be held in the spring at Forest Hill Cemetery, Northeast Harbor. Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 1139 Main St., Mount Desert. Condolences may be expressed at
www.jordanfernald.com.