People.

• Author: Newbold, Farrah

Jewel Lee Kenley: In the Driver's Seat.

Jewel Lee Kenley has gone from tying flies to running one of the most profitable car dealerships in Utah -- a turn of events especially remarkable in light of the fact that she began running Ed Kenley Ford immediately after a 1993 car wreck that left her seriously injured and her husband, Ed Kenley, dead.

Shortly after marrying Ed, in 1963, the Kenleys headed to West Yellowstone for their first joint business venture -- as owners of Ed's Totem Tackle, a fishing tackle store. Jewel Lee held down the fort at the shop while Ed worked in a lumber mill to generate additional income. Six months later, Jewel Lee was ready to move back to Layton. "I remember wanting to see just one tree that wasn't a pine tree and I could see we weren't going to be millionaires," she recalls, laughing. Shortly thereafter, the Kenleys moved to West Point (near Ogden) where Jewel Lee's father, a lifelong dealership owner himself, nudged Ed into the car business.

Less than thrilled, Jewel Lee remembers thinking "Oh no, I grew up with this -- he's never going to be home!" She hoped that Ed would tire of the car business quickly. Instead, a year later, Ed resolved to someday own a dealership.

The Kenleys saved money while Ed worked his way through every position at the dealership, and almost 11 years later they did buy their own dealership, in Ed's hometown of Layton.

When their daughter, Anya, became sick with a rare lymphoma disorder, in 1989, the family moved to Seattle for her treatment, and the dealership was put on the back burner. The harrowing months before Anya's death were burned into Jewel Lee's memory for more than one reason. "The employees were so loyal and helpful that I never forgot. I was so attached to them that when Ed passed away three years later I thought, 'What will happen to all of the families that depend on Ed Kenley Ford for a living?' I didn't want them to be scared or to worry. I didn't know what I was going to do -- I just wanted to allay those fears."

"So, I lied, I guess. I told them not to worry, nothing would happen, then I just started studying," she recalls. Ford Motors was not convinced Jewel Lee could do the job, and allowed her to retain her franchise on a trial basis only. "Because they (Ford Motors) were so convinced I would fail it gave me great purpose and hardened me. I was determined to protect my husband's name and reputation."

About six years after taking over the dealership, Jewel...