Business leader J.N. Walpole passes away at age 91

Ruston is mourning the loss of one of its longtime businessmen after J.N. Walpole, founder of Walpole Tire Service, passed away late Sunday night, only days before his 92nd birthday.

When honored with the 2018 Robert E. Russ Award by the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Walpole briefly spoke of his business beliefs.

“I started the tire business with only three people in 1956, and I tried to build my business on honesty and integrity,” he said.

Two years earlier, when Mayor Ronny Walker proclaimed Oct. 25, 2016, “J.N. Walpole Day” in the city of Ruston, Walpole’s son Neal, who continues to run the family business, spoke more on his father’s busines success.

“There are not many people that would work in a business every day — opening up the store for 58 years — but my dad was here for 58 years,” he said. “He led all of us by showing all of us what hard work meant and showing us how to be honest. He was a good parent, and he was a good boss.”

Neal Walpole said his father had always been a hard worker, sharing stories of him selling produce in New Orleans and then his time in the service in the Army during the Korean War.

“When he got out of the Army he knew he wanted to go into business for himself, but he didn’t know what he wanted to do,” Neal Walpole said about his father.

“At that time, an ad in the paper came out seeking someone to open a Goodyear store, so he responded to the ad. So, not knowing a thing about tires, he started a tire business.”

The first five years of his business were rough, Neal Walpole said.

“The first years were difficult because they not only sold tires, you name it, they sold it all,” Neal Walpole said, adding that his father made friends across the parish to help build his business. “He was able to meet a lot of nice people over the years. After five years he decided he could make it and bought the property where we stand today.”

J.N. Walpole was born on May 13, 1928, in Choudrant and graduated from Choudrant High School in 1945. He graduated from what was then called Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in 1949 with a degree in Business Administration.

After working a short time in Shreveport, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1959. During his two-year stint in the Army, he married Ruth O’Neal. Upon his honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant, he worked four years managing Sibley General Merchandise.

Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce President Judy Copeland called J.N. Walpole’s death “a great loss” while commending the fact he leaves “a great legacy.”

“We’ve lost a great citizen,” Copeland said. “That’s why he was honored with the Russ Award in 2018. He was simply a great man who took care of the community, not only himself but through his business, too.”

Former longtime Ruston banker Johnny Maxwell knew J.N. Walpole since the early days of Walpole Tire’s existence.

“He did it in a quiet, unassuming way,” Maxwell said. “He was a quiet example of how to live and how to treat people. He was a great mentor and example for younger people. We really need more of those examples like him.”

College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Wilbert Ellis was the 2015 Russ Award recipient and remembers dealing with J.N. Walpole many times over the years, including having a conversation with him during the 2018 Chamber Awards Banquet.

“I met him way back when and from the beginning he was also so nice and wonderful to me,” Ellis said. “He was a cornerstone of Ruston — just a great individual. He never met a stranger. People trusted in him — that shows in the business success Walpole Tires has had for so long. He created that success.”