Alfred Thomas Tilley, 100, died peacefully on 21 January.
After his return from military service in the Second World War, he started a car repair and taxi business in his native North Cornwall. An increase in school contract numbers saw the arrival of his first coach around 1950.
Alf was joined in the 1970s by his two sons Clive and Paul, and he retired from the firm, based near Bude, in 1982.