Vernice "V.V." Beroth started his career in the oil business as a tank-truck salesman for American Oil in 1937. By the time he retired in the 1980s, he owned his own company and a chain of 4 Brothers convenience stores.
Today, there are 25 4 Brothers stores in the Piedmont.
Beroth died Wednesday at the Salemtowne Retirement Community, six days shy of his 100th birthday.
"His philosophy was to be honest and treat the customer right and everything should be OK," said Winfield Beroth, the youngest of his four sons.
The family will continue with plans to celebrate V.V. Beroth's birthday on Saturday, his son said.
Beroth spent most of his life in the Vienna community and worked on the family's farm before switching to the oil business.
He was a descendant of Johannes Beroth, one of 11 Moravians who settled the 2,000-acre Wachovia Tract in 1753.
He paid homage to his ancestry by spearheading a family effort to reconstruct the original village in Bethabara. In less than a year, the Beroth family built several structures based on historical records of the time.
Rod Meyer, who was the director of Historic Bethabara Park for several years, remembers seeing young family members hauling fence posts and older family members hewing logs.
"Mr. Beroth was there and at the center of everything," Meyer said.
Beroth later became a member of the park's board of trustees.
"He was this sort of wise man. I could tell him an idea and get an honest, straightforward response," Meyer said.
V.V. Beroth retired when he was about 75, but he continued to go into the office, Winfield Beroth said. On Sunday, he drove himself to Olivet Moravian Church, where he was a charter member.
"He was sort of immortal," Meyer said. "He kept going on and on."
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