William A. Raftery, 74, Dies: Member of the International Automotive Hall of Fame
20 June 2000
William A. Raftery, 74, Dies: Member of the International Automotive Hall of Fame
PINEHURST, N.C. - William Raftery, a 1997 inductee into the International
Automotive Hall of Fame, died on June 19 at his home in Pinehurst, North
Carolina. He was 74.
The Automotive Hall of Fame, whose mission is to celebrate "accomplished
people of the worldwide motor vehicle industry for the purpose of inspiring
others, especially young people, to higher levels of achievement in their own
work and lives" selected an appropriate honoree in Mr. Raftery. A visionary in
promoting world trade, Mr. Raftery helped guide the automotive parts industry
into an era of globalization.
As president of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA)
for almost thirty years, Mr. Raftery pioneered an industry-to-industry,
business-to-business approach to establishing relationships between Japanese
vehicle builders and U.S. suppliers. He led the first U.S. automotive
industry trade missions to Japan, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Mr.
Raftery was recognized for his international trade efforts with the automotive
aftermarket's prestigious Triangle Award in 1991 and the American Society of
Association Executives (ASAE) International Award in 1988.
According to Larry McCurdy, president of Dana Corporation's Automotive
Aftermarket Group, and former MEMA Chairman, Mr. Raftery's "vision awakened
the industry to a fuller understanding of the vital importance of
globalization and set MEMA on the path to becoming an international
organization. No one was ever more strongly committed to the good of the
automotive industry, or to American business generally, than Bill Raftery."
Effective in communicating industry concerns to government, Mr. Raftery
served on Presidential Advisory Committees in the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon,
Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations. He lobbied
effectively on issues including safety, emission control and vehicle
inspections. Early in his career, Mr. Raftery conceived the idea of Traffic
Hazard Warning Signals and was successful in securing legislation to make them
mandatory.
In addition to his success in building overseas business connections, Mr.
Raftery was instrumental in developing the domestic auto parts industry. A
forerunner to today's e-commerce, the aftermarket's MEMA/TRANSNET system was
created in 1977 under the direction of Mr. Raftery. This electronic data
interchange system became the industry standard for parts ordering. He also
established credit reporting and rehabilitation services, consolidated
industry trade shows into the Automotive Industry Aftermarket Week, and turned
MEMA into a broad-based trade association serving and representing parts
manufacturers. In 1980, Mr. Raftery was awarded the ASAE Key Award as the top
trade association executive in the United States.
Voted "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Ideal Mountaineer" at Mount Saint
Michael's High School in the Bronx, Mr. Raftery enlisted in the Naval Air
Corps Reserve Program at age seventeen. A fond memory of his military years
was captaining the Miami Naval Air Station basketball team to the Eastern
Region Armed Forces Championship. An avid college basketball fan, Mr. Raftery
was an enthusiastic supporter of the Duke Blue Devils in his retirement years.
Mr. Raftery graduated from Tufts University with a degree in economics and
industrial engineering and attended New York University's Graduate School of
Business Administration where he studied Business Management. After his
retirement from MEMA in 1991, he moved from his Alpine, New Jersey home to
Pinehurst, where he remained active as a business consultant in the areas of
international trade, strategic alliances and joint ventures.
A longtime benefactor of St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Mr. Raftery more
recently became involved in the establishment of the newly dedicated Duke
Children's Hospital.
Mr. Raftery is survived by Vivian, his wife of 46 years; daughters Donna,
of New York City, and Linda, of Durham, North Carolina; granddaughters, Claire
and Adriane; and brother, John of Las Vegas, Nevada. His dry sense of humor,
exceptional intellect, strong integrity and love will be fondly remembered and
greatly missed by his family, friends and business associates.