"Filled with gratitude for the countless ways this ... has enriched our lives," Teresa and Dan Williams say in thanking the "wonderful community" they have called home in a letter sent to the Boothbay Register, following the recent sale of their business Dan's Auto Repair to Colton and Kassandra Churchill, Charleston residents who own Rowes Garage in Corinth.  

In a recent interview with the Register, the Williamses expressed their gratitude and spoke about the many years and deep roots they have in the area. They attended local schools and dated in high school, marrying in 1982 and raising three children here: Dan, Corey and Nichole, who are now grown and living in Troutman, North Carolina.

As Teresa explained, "The next chapter of our lives will be with them and our grandkids," and the couple is packing up their home and moving.

Dan's Auto Repair has been a local fixture for decades. "We've been totally blessed," Dan said. "The business created a place for me to work and I never counted the dollars. It was a great support system for our family."

Over 1,400 five-star reviews on SureCritic show the business' popularity. Dan estimated they have worked on thousands of cars, asking the same question of his team on each repair: "Before you give it back to the customer, would you let your grandmother drive in it?"

Dan and Teresa started the business to spend more time with their young children after Dan spent 12 years with Central Maine Power in Augusta. As a kid, he would find old things and fix them, and he continued to help friends with auto repairs at their home on Eastern Avenue. He coached baseball, basketball and softball and realized, "You can't get back time with the kids and I wanted to be part of their growing up."

He and Teresa discussed the possibility of starting a business, knowing it was a big gamble and "with fingers crossed" they opened in 1996. "You'll make it," friends Neal and Jean Reny told them and the day they opened, their friends greeted them with business. "Eric Wood left his trucks in the dooryard," Dan remembered. "Daren Graves brought business from his towing company."

After two years, Dan and Teresa took the next step and moved to the current location on Barters Island Road in 1998. The former garage and boat repair shop had been vacant for a while. "We wanted eventually to be away from home," Teresa explained.  

There are lots of memories from so many years in business and the Williamses smile when they remember some of them: the customer who left a dog in her car for Dan to watch while she went to play tennis, another who asked if Dan had a bed available so he could lie down while his car was being repaired, and more recently the kind stranger who brought a full lunch for the six-person staff once each year for the past two years.

Making the 17-hour drive to see their family in North Carolina is tiring and they are grateful to the pilot friend who provided them with standby passes for flights from time to time. But for the same reason the couple started their business, it became increasingly apparent they should consider selling it and moving.

"We love it here," Teresa said. “But we don't want to miss time with our children and grandchildren." Dan and Teresa have been traveling back and forth for the past 14 years to visit them. "If we wait, will we have the energy for this?" So far, the Williamses have completed about three quarters of their move from Boothbay Harbor to their new house in North Carolina.

On Thanksgiving 2023, they put the business on the market, interviewing prospective buyers and turning some offers down because they wanted to make sure the new owners would share their approach to the business. It was important, too, Dan said, to make sure the new owners would keep the current staff.

As Teresa described it, on a Friday afternoon in February, the Williamses invited Colton and Kassandra Churchill to their home. "We spent three hours having coffee and talking and then showed them the shop." The Churchills are a young couple with two small children and another on the way. They will continue to operate their Corinth business.

In a phone interview, Colton Churchill described that February meeting as "A lot of conversation about family, life and who we were. We connected very well. They were looking for the right people."

He said they found many similarities between their small Corinth community and the Boothbay area.

"We're excited," Churchill said. "We're a relationship-based business and my goal is to push the good relationship with our team outward to the community. We're looking forward to it." The business will be known as Rowes Garage Boothbay. The couple will own both businesses and be in Boothbay on a regular basis.

The move won't mean "good-bye" forever as Teresa and Dan have family in the area and he is hoping to be in this year's tuna tournament. They are extremely grateful for all the support over the years from friends, customers and those who worked for them.

"We want to thank the whole community – they supported us throughout," Dan said.