In Memoriam: Former State Farm Fleet Administrator Malcom

Richard “Dick” L. Malcom, former fleet administrator for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., passed away on Jan. 20 in Bloomington, Ill. He was 67.

Malcom had more than 30 years of experience in fleet, and most recently worked at State Farm, in a position he held from 2001 until his retirement in 2017. Prior to his time with State Farm, Malcom worked for Country Companies as a leasing agent for 17 years.

A major industry achievement he received included being honored with the 2013 Fleet Manager of the Year award, which is presented by Automotive Fleet magazine and co-sponsored by Wheels Inc. and the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association (AFLA).

He was a member of AFLA and served on the AFLA Board of Directors while serving in the fleet industry. He was also a member of the General Motors Commercial Sounding Board.

“Dick served on our Commercial Sounding Board for about a decade and he was a great friend to many of us,” recalled Ed Peper, U.S. vice president of General Motors Fleet. “Dick’s fleet management skills were widely recognized. His partnership, his advice, his ideas, his friendship, and his many contributions benefitted GM Fleet immensely. He will be missed.”

Ron Shoemaker, founder of The Hourglass Foundation and formerly of Flexco Fleet Services, first met Malcom at an AFLA conference roughly 17 years ago, and the two formed a friendship that lasted until Malcom’s passing.

“We immediately hit it off and over the next 17 years we did business together, but more importantly, we became the best of friends,” said Shoemaker. “Dick had such a calming spirit about him that you just wanted to spend time with him whenever you could.”

Michael Sims, global fleet planning and acquisition manager for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, another close friend of Malcom, attested to his kind personality.

"Dick was a very close personal friend that I always looked forward to seeing and spending time with," said Sims. "He was a kind and gentle man with a huge personality and a delightful sense of humor. Dick was pleasant, respectful, and professional. The greatest compliment I can give Dick is that he was easy to be around. He loved his family, his friends and had great faith."   

Some of Malcom’s accomplishments with State Farm included rightsizing the company fleet; creating a State Farm fleet card designed to reduce internal costs and provide internal income; introducing a rental option to the company’s pool car fleet; and increasing oversight and accountability of the fleet.

While at State Farm, he oversaw policies and procedures relating to the purchase, lease, sale, and operation of the company’s fleet, and monitored and managed vehicle expenses of cars and trucks.

He is survived by his wife, Kitty; his daughters, Brooke Quinlan and Abbey Lightbody, and five grandchildren.

 Also surviving are one brother, J. David Malcom, and his nieces and nephews, Ashley Huddleston and J.D. Malcom, Britt Barnard, and Amanda Barnard.

Malcom’s memorial services will be held Friday, Jan. 25 2019, at the Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home in Bloomington.

His hobbies and interests included cars, vacationing with his family in the Virgin Islands and playing golf at the El Paso Golf Club. Malcom was a 1973 graduate of the University of Illinois.