The exact page text, read by your browser's voice.
1973 or 1977 – present
The record, at the leg's rule: The Leep family heads the Gurley Leep Automotive Family of Mishawaka, the largest dealer group seated in the city, and its principals are living. Under this section's standing rule, what is printed for them is what is already public — roles and published giving — and no estimate of any family member's net worth appears here; no reputable publication consulted prints one. Michael Leep Sr. began his career as a salesman at McAnary Ford in Gary, Indiana, and co-founded the Gurley Leep group with his partner Van Gurley. The founding year is printed two ways in the record and both stand: the Dealerships file settles the founding at 1977 on its directory and trade sources, against the 1973 the aggregators carry; Marian University's 2025 account of Leep likewise says he co-founded the group "in 1973" with Van Gurley. The division is flagged for assembly; neither date is silently preferred here. The assembly ruling: the Dealerships record’s settlement governs — the founding stands at 1977, on the house’s own account and the Tribune’s fiftieth-anniversary arithmetic, and 1973 remains printed as the circulating figure it corrects.
The giving, as published: The family's permanent form is the Leep Automotive Family Foundation, founded in 2011. The group's own Annual Giving Report publishes the ledger: since its founding in 2011 the foundation "has awarded $5,555,084 in grants to charitable organizations in the communities where we do business"; in 2024 the family's and the company's combined charitable giving totaled $5,771,987, of which $1,094,744 was foundation grant funding; and the report is signed by James Leep, Mike Leep Sr., and Mike Leep Jr. over the sentence, "For the Leep Family, giving is more than a tradition — it's a responsibility." The Mishawaka instances stand in the Charities file at their projects' own strength: the Leep Maternity Home within Hannah's House of Michiana's continuum — a partnership of nearly three decades in the foundation's account, from the founding committee Karen and Mike Leep Sr. joined — and the Homes of Hope transitional house built with Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County on city-donated land, at a cost of $300,000 with a $150,000 sponsorship from the Leep Family Foundation. In October 2025 Marian University Ancilla College honored Michael Leep Sr. as its 2025 Ancilla Domini Legacy of Service Honoree and announced, in the university's words, a milestone of "$500,000 in new scholarship contributions to support students" at the dinner in his honor, the foundation having helped launch the college's nursing program. That is the whole of the published record this section uses: a founding, a foundation, and dated gifts — the modern Mishawaka fortune in the only form the rule lets print take of it.
Sources:
- Gurley Leep Automotive Family, Annual Giving Report (2024), the company's own publication — the foundation founded in 2011; $5,555,084 in grants since founding; 2024 charitable giving of $5,771,987, including $1,094,744 in foundation grants; the report signed by James Leep, Mike Leep Sr., and Mike Leep Jr.
- Marian University, news release, October 2025 — Michael Leep Sr. as founder, his start as a salesman at McAnary Ford in Gary, the co-founding with Van Gurley dated 1973, the 2025 Ancilla Domini Legacy of Service honor, and the $500,000 scholarship milestone.
- Dealerships file of this build — the Gurley Leep founding settled at 1977 on its sources, against the aggregators' 1973.