Generations of Virginia Union University students turned to kindly service station owner William McKinley Crump for affordable help to keep their cars on the road.

So did plenty of other North Side residents, who for 47 years counted on Mr. Crump to inspect and service their cars at his shop, Crump’s Auto Service, at 202 Ladies Mile Road.

“He was a very sweet person with an infectious smile,” said his daughter, Judy C. Brown, a retired Richmond school librarian.

“Everyone knew him and liked him,” said a former customer Rosa Jiggetts. “He was a neighborhood institution. Everyone in this area had to pass his shop, and he always had cheery word for everyone.”

Mr. Crump closed his business five years ago, but continued to open every day for people to drop by and spend time sharing memories.

The mechanic and business owner died Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016, at his daughter’s Chesterfield County home, where he lived in recent years. He was 94.

“He wasn’t ill,” Mrs. Brown said. “He sat down, told my husband to give the cat some treats and just died.”

Final tributes were paid to Mr. Crump on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Second Baptist Church in the West End, where he had been a longtime member and active with the Usher Board. The pastor, Dr. James H. Harris, officiated.

Born in Cartersville in 1922, Mr. Crump “loved working on cars,” said his daughter, who admired her father for learning his trade even though he did not finish high school.

Mrs. Brown said he gained the knowledge and experience he needed working at a variety of service stations as a mechanic before opening his own gas station and car repair shop in 1963.

“Through the years, he inspected and worked on thousands of cars,” Mrs. Brown said.

Mr. Crump also was a Mason.

Burial was in the New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery in Cartersville.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his son, Jimmy L. Jones, five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.