Joyce Koons Buick GMC was founded by John and Eleanor Koons. John grew up on a farm in Leesburg, VA. When he was 18, he broke his neck in a swimming accident. The left side of his body remained paralyzed, though with treatment, he was able to walk again.
In 1939, a year after the accident, he was hired as a salesperson at a DeSoto-Plymouth outlet in Falls Church. Two years after that, he was the owner. He bought the store for $350, part of which he had saved the rest he borrowed from Eleanor Ayres, a school teacher whom he later married.
Eleanor and John purchased Prince Pontiac in 1954, which later became Koons of Manassas and then Joyce Koons Buick GMC.
Eleanor and John were active in a wide range of education, civic and charitable endeavors. They helped found the first Catholic high school in northern Virginia, a center for children with cerebral palsy, and a cardiac care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. John was a charter member and life director of the Cerebral Palsy Center and an honorary director of the Boys Club of Greater Washington, DC. He was also a member of the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department.
Today, Joyce Koons Buick GMC is owned by Eleanor and John's daughter, Joyce Koons. She continues the Koons family committment to customer satisfaction and community service. Koons of Manassas continues to support organizations that help children and families, like SPARK (the education foundation for Prince William County Public Schools).
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