Marcia Heroux Pounds, Sun Sentinel

Wayne Huizenga was remembered at a memorial service Thursday for his passion for life, sense of humor, and entrepreneurial savvy.

Huizenga, 80, died at his Fort Lauderdale home on March 22 after a long fight with cancer. On Thursday, the renowned entrepreneur and avid sports fan was honored at a public service at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. He lived in Fort Lauderdale for 60 years.

About 1,400 people attended, spanning the worlds of sports, business, government and academia, including Gov. Rick Scott, U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula, and former Nova Southeastern University president Ray Ferrero.

In an interview before the service, AutoNation chairman and CEO Mike Jackson said that while Huizenga was “exceptional” and “extraordinary” in many ways, “his defining characteristics were humility and humor. He had a quick wit — work was a joy.”

Even today, when making decisions at Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation, Jackson said he and others look at Huizenga’s portrait in the conference room and say, “What would Wayne do?”

At the service, Jackson relayed stories about trips to Ireland with Huizenga and football player Dan Marino that made the audience laugh, as Huizenga always liked to do.

His daughter, Pam Huizenga Alexander, said a lot has been written about her father as an entrepreneur, but that many didn’t know he was a loyal friend and a jokester.

“Our father was kind and generous, irreverent and hilarious,” she said.

Son H. Wayne Huizenga Jr. said he learned from his “Pop” the importance of family and to keep “running the race.”

He said his father and mother both battled cancer for years, and that his father loved life so much he took part in clinical trial and experimental treatments.

South Florida’s business and community members are gather today to honor South Florida’s most well-known entrepreneur, H. Wayne Huizenga, who died March 22 at age 80.

Pastor Larry Thompson said when someone had a one-on-one with Huizenga, they left feeling “like they were his best friend.”

Huizenga recognized South Florida’s potential and contributed to building it into a region in the “big leagues,” said Bob Henninger, executive vice president of Huizenga Holdings, the company over the family’s businesses and real estate.

He put Fort Lauderdale on the map for entrepreneurial ventures. He brought many of his businesses to the city, and was the first to simultaneously own three major sports teams: the Miami Dolphins, Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers. He took the Marlins to the World Series, winning in just their fifth season in 1997, but — ever the businessman — later rankled fans by selling off key players. The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996.

 

But worldwide, he was known for his business acumen. A college dropout, he began his trash collection business at age 25 with a single truck and route. Waste Management was born from a merger of his company with three others. The company went public in 1971.

At age 47, he left Waste Management to create other companies, including Blockbuster and AutoNation, consolidating smaller businesses to create a major brands in video rental and automotive sales.

As a result, he was one of the nation’s wealthiest people, with a net worth of $2.8 billion in 2018, according to the Forbes 400 list. He and wife Marti contributed more than $150 million to charities via the foundation through the years, Henninger said. Marti Huizenga died in January 2017 at age 74.

A private family service was held on Wednesday.

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