Bud Krohn Funeral Services Announced

As previously announced, on Saturday, June 17^th, 2023, early repossession industry pioneer Allen M. “Bud” Krohn passed away at the age of 96. After more than fifty years in the industry, Bud had retired from the industry in 2005, so many in the industry now would not have had the pleasure to have known or met him. But was not only a leader in the industry, but a friend and mentor to more men and women in it than I will ever know. Below are the details for Bud’s funeral;

Oakmont Memorial Park

2099 Reliez Valley Road

Lafayette, CA 94549

Tuesday June 27, 2023

Viewing – 10am

Ceremony – 11am, graveside services follow.

Wake Following – Location to be announced at event.

Bud Krohn

Bud was a former President of the old National Finance Adjusters and chairman of the board. Bud was also a long-time member of the California Association of Licensed Repossessors and the old Time Finance Adjusters. Bud was friends with everyone from Harvey Altes to Lorna Lou Barnes and Art Christianson. But long before these relationships, positions and memberships, like most people in the industry, his path to the world of repossessions was neither a direct one or planned.

When World War II broke out, sixteen-year-old Allen M. Krohn joined the Merchant Marines and spent the war as Japanese submarine bait on lightly armed tankers loaded with highly flammable aircraft fuel through the thousands of Pacific Atolls. Spared the Japanese kamikaze, submarine and manned torpedo attacks, Bud made it through the war and stayed with the Merchant Marines until 1953, when he chose another calling on land.

The Merchant Marines had kept Bud at sea and away for months at a time. These periods were often followed by long periods on land, where a twenty-seven-year-old Bud Krohn found himself working part time repossessing cars and other “chattel” in the San Francisco Bay Area for “Modern Adjustment Bureau” owned by William Orisman and Robert Steinert. It was here that he and his wife Janice raised their son, Ken, who would later earned his way into the trade, like many, sweeping floors and making keys in the years to come.

By 1963, Bud was riding with his 16-year-old son Ken where he performed his first repossession. It was on a sunny Saturday morning in 1963 in Pacheco, California. While Bud was at the door waiting for the borrower to answer, Ken was already behind the wheel of a 57’ Chevrolet, Nomad. Before the borrower had even come to the door, Ken had unplugged the ignition switch and with a paperclip and a pocketknife, had it started and was backing it down the driveway.

In 1969, Bud co-founded AOC Adjusters with fellow agency owners Tony Tomasello, Walt Burleson and Derrell Biddy. In June of 1975, the TFA held its annual convention in San Francisco. In the audience were the owners of AOC Adjusters, Bud Krohn, Tony Tomasello, Walt Burleson and Derrell Biddy along with Bud’s son Ken Krohn.

As nominations for new association Presidents were taken, Bud’s name was brought forth. “Over my dead body!” shouted Bud’s partner Tony Tomasello. Insulted, Bud and Ken walked out of the room. Partner Walt Burleson walked out right behind him.

After this falling out with AOC, on July 15^th 1975, Bud bought Oakland, California based “National Auto Recovery Bureau” (NARB) from long- time owner Charles Clark. In the following years, Bud, his sons Ken, David and daughter Deborah were running offices from the Northern California border city of Eureka all the way down to the south-central coastal town of Santa Maria.

The 1970’s were the decade that technology and its expenses began creeping into the repossession industry. In 1977, fellow industry pioneer and legend, Art Christiansen of the ARA, saw the potential technological advantages of the computer industry still in its infancy and hired three software and network developers to develop the repossession industries very first repossession management software, “CADO” was born. Along with Art and ARA co-founder, Kevin McGivern, The Dunleavy’s of T-CAR and Dave Wright, Bud was one of its first adopters.

in the early 1980’s, when fellow industry pioneer Millard Land introduced the Fax machine to the repossession industry Bud was one of the first to sign up. Weighing in at about a hundred and forty pounds and costing over $20,000 in current value, Ken Krohn of NARB recalled them getting their first fax machine in 1983. One led to two and two to three, before long, they had one in every office.

In March of 1997, Bud, along with Kevin McGivern of Chicago, Chad Latvaaho of Minnesota, Bob Wilson of UAR and the Dunleavy’s of TCAR in Upstate New York, just to name a few, were engaged in the attempted consolidation of their companies by a Boston based venture capital firm with an ahead of its time idea. With an offered $100 million dollars, they were to create the nation’s largest and first coast-to-coast agency.

A piece of cutting-edge technology for its time, the handheld PC, was in the sole proprietary ownership of a man who had developed it for Railway Express, a company recently acquired by the same venture capital firm, Advanced International. Brought to the attention of Todd Hodnett of later RDN fame, the early intention of this company was to place these handheld devices in each truck for improved communications between the office to the field.

Engaged in the initial conversations were, Kevin McGivern of Chicago, Bud Krohn of Oakland, California, Chad Latvaaho of Minnesota, Bob Wilson of UAR and the Dunleavy’s of TCAR in Upstate New York, just to name a few. Although this roll-up strategy eventually failed, it illustrates Bud’s foresight into adopting new ideas and technologies in hopes of building an evolving and improving repossession industry.

Even when I worked with Bud in the mid-90’s, he was tiring of the business’s direction and how lenders were expecting everything for free. So in 2005, after over 50 years in the industry and almost thirty years to the day that he bought National Auto Recovery Bureau of Oakland, California, both he and his son, Ken called it quits.

NARB was still a staple repossession company in the industry, but lender demands for free storage and no closing fees showed them the writing on the wall. NARB was sold to a man inexperienced in the repossession industry who promptly ran it into the ground.

I left my prior agency in 93’ to work at NARB for “Bud” and Ken Krohn at their San Jose, California office. Bud Krohn was the greatest boss I ever had and one of the nicest men you would ever meet. His wife, Janice, known industry wide as “Repo Rita”, would drop by once or twice a year with a cake or cookies.

I learned a lot there under Bud and Ken and made long-time friends of my coworkers Jimmy Hunt out of the Oakland Office and Werner Silber in Salinas. Warner eventually bought Bud’s daughter’s company “Golden State Recovery” in Santa Maria and Jimmy and his sister Mary later founded “New Era Recovery” in Martinez

I hadn’t talked to my old boss, Bud Krohn since the “Railway Rollup” went bust. My old friend Werner gave me his number for Kevin McGivern, who had told me that he had a great conversation with him, so I called him. Now ninety-five-years old, Bud had just awoken from a nap and was having trouble breathing. I had hoped to speak more, but I didn’t want to push him and let it go, I was just glad to hear his voice. That was the last time that I spoke with him.

Bud was so many things to so many people at so many different times. While I know that many may feel grief in his passing, I feel gratitude for the honor of having known him. He has been and furthermore, will be missed.

Rest in peace Bud.

Kevin Armstrong

Publisher