Granger Ford - Passing of Albert Schmitz

[swami37]

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the passing of Albert Schmitz (Granger Ford). Albert was instrumental in getting us involved with this forum, a 25+ year employee, father, husband and friend.

Albert professed to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While broncos are great, I believe Albert would rather see you in heaven someday than deliver your Bronco to you here on earth.

He leaves big shoes to fill and Sean and Amanda on our staff will do their best to fulfill our obligations to the Bronco community.

His impact cannot be understated for our store. My first interactions with Albert were as a 14 year old working in our detail shop and ended with me as the dealer principal and him as my employee. The 20 years in-between have been great, both learning a lot from each other.

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for his family and co-workers.

Condolences

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[DC9atnight]

I think Albert and I must have liked the same vehicles because he and I were often on the Bronco and Maverick forums. When I wandered on to this site in September 2020 I knew nothing specific about Broncos other than I wanted one. Albert's posts were a great source of information and he also taught me that there were good dealers and good dealerships out there. I also thought of him as a bit of a rebel because other dealers would go on the forum and tell us Granger would be shut down and Ford was against this whole scheme. Although I am not getting my Bronco from Granger I loved following the story of Granger beating everyone's deals and the drama of whether they could pull it off. I remember one exciting moment when we all thought Ford must have come up with the new allocation formula to somehow get back at Granger and I cheered when Granger's response was $2000.00 off invoice for October. Granger was going to win this thing!

I would like to share my post I wrote in 2020 as I celebrated Granger's panache. (and I was honored to get an actual "like" from Albert.)

Shoeless Joe Jackson
"Is this heaven?"

Ray Kinsella
"No, it's Iowa"

Field of Dreams

 

[Ripcurl]

Rest In Peace Albert, you gave so much to those of us here with relentless questions and were such a key source of information early on after the release

so helpful even to those of us who weren’t customers

condolences to the family

 

[LalasBronco]

I'm so sorry to hear this news. My thoughts are with you all and his family.

 

[FATHORSE]

RIP Albert, we all morn the loss of a valued forum member that added more to all you guys with the deal that Granger provided. He seemed like he was full filling a self enjoyment on getting you guys a good deal.
I read and liked everything he had to say and he seemed like a genuine Bronco enthusiast. I will own and drive my bronco in honor of his name.

 

[CoolTech]

Shocked. What a wonderful gentleman. I was really looking forward to meeting him - I guess that day will have to wait a while. My condolences to family and friends. Heartbroken here in SoCal.

 

[Razorbak86]

Thank you for noticing us…

[snip]

Out of the shadows of my B345T moniker, and at the same time making the content stand up to more scrutiny...

Godspeed, my friend. ​

 

[MJJ]

Albert will leave a lasting legacy and be part of the Bronco story for years to come. Ford should celebrate him as the example for sales professionals to emulate.

Zach and the Granger team - my condolences on the loss of your friend and co-worker,

 

[Bronck]

Albert, you will be missed. RIP

 

[moisea]

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the passing of Albert Schmitz (Granger Ford). Albert was instrumental in getting us involved with this forum, a 25+ year employee, father, husband and friend.

Albert professed to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While broncos are great, I believe Albert would rather see you in heaven someday than deliver your Bronco to you here on earth.

He leaves big shoes to fill and Sean and Amanda on our staff will do their best to fulfill our obligations to the Bronco community.

His impact cannot be understated for our store. My first interactions with Albert were as a 14 year old working in our detail shop and ended with me as the dealer principal and him as my employee. The 20 years in-between have been great, both learning a lot from each other.

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for his family and co-workers.

I am so sorry for your loss. Sending prayers your way.

 

[JimL]

God rest his soul. Someday none of this will matter; only what we have decided to do about Christ.

 

[Sal Gallo]

Rest in Peace my friend. Even though I have since transferred my reservation to a dealer more local, your breath of knowledge on all things automotive guided me through the first six months of this bronco journey. I have thought of you often always hoping you were doing well. I am truly saddened by this news.

What an amazing man. How did he have so much time for so many of us?

 

[Mopar2Bronco2021]

Gosh I’m terribly sorry to hear about this news. Like others have said, Albert was such a pleasure to message back and forth with and was such a good help on the new Bronco process. He was the sole reason I was looking forward to traveling all the way to Iowa from Texas for the Bronco.

Even though my reservation for the Bronco was cancelled months ago, I still think of Albert and Granger Ford every time I read or see anything about the truck.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and the Granger Ford team.

 

[Erock]

So sorry to hear... best wishes to all.

 

[Jarhead]

May God's peace and comfort surround those you love and those who love you while you experience the awesome glory of the LORD and the splendor of Heaven. God speed Sir!

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