James David Power III

James David Power III, known to friends and family as Dave and more widely as J.D. Power, founder of the influential marketing information firm, died Saturday, January 23. He was 89.

Born May 30, 1931, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to a high school English teacher and an executive secretary, Dave was shaped by the influences of a tight-knit family and Jesuit education. He attended College of the Holy Cross, graduating in June 1953, then entered the United States Coast Guard, serving as an officer on a polar ice breaker, the CGC Eastwind, in the Arctic and Antarctic. After four years in the Coast Guard, Dave was accepted into the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania using his GI benefits and completed his MBA in 1959.

While serving as an auditor for the tractor division of Ford Motor Company, Dave met Julie Pierce, a third-grade teacher who lived in the same Birmingham, Michigan, apartment building where he resided. They became engaged after Dave left Ford for McCann Erickson's research firm Marplan and were married on July 21, 1962. Together, they would go on to raise four children.

They would also found J.D. Power and Associates in 1968, at the kitchen table of their home in Calabasas, California. Their first automotive client was Toyota Motor Company, performing market research for its forklift division. Dave parlayed that relationship into customer satisfaction research for the automotive division, eventually pioneering his independent satisfaction surveys that dominated the automotive industry and many other product and service industries. Dave and the company he operated became synonymous with independence, integrity, and the Voice of the Customer.

Before the ubiquitous satisfaction surveys with their crisp dollar bills, J.D. Power surveys contained shiny quarters, taped onto each form by the Power children themselves. As they grew, the children would go on to have various roles within the organization. This fact, along with Julie and Dave's closeness to their trusted, long-time employees (“associates”) gave the business an intimate feeling of family even as J.D. Power and Associates became routinely touted in advertisements across many industries—not just in the United States, but globally. Dave moved the company from Los Angeles in the late 1970s so that he could be closer to the community where Julie and he were raising their children, Westlake Village.

Despite the rocketing success of his venture and the sometimes-controversial discoveries of his research, Dave maintained a warmth and principled spirit prompted by a desire to serve those with whom he did business. The foundation of his company was to assure the public that it was built on his own life of honesty and respect for others. Though he saw it as his duty to provide accurate, independent, and unvarnished critiques to help companies improve, he did so with a graciousness that belied the hard truths he spoke to the world's most powerful executives.

Julie became weakened by the effects of multiple sclerosis in the mid-1990s, and in 2002, the disease claimed her life. Three years later, Dave decided to sell J.D. Power and Associates, consulting for the purchaser, The McGraw-Hill Companies, before settling into retirement. Dave contributed to automotive industry commentary and three books about his life and company, enjoyed time at a vacation home on Cape Cod, and found love again with the former Joan Heiler, whom he married in 2003.

While Dave was a long-time resident of Southern California, he was always proud of his Worcester upbringing and his New England roots. He especially loved following the Boston Red Sox and Celtics.

Dave led a robust life into his late 80s, but eventually the effects of aging took their toll. His passing of natural causes was peaceful and at home, surrounded by family. In addition to his wife, Joan, he is survived by four children, Jamey (Julie) Power, Mary (Erin) Power, Jonathan Power, and Susan (Michael) Curtin; two stepdaughters, Ellie (Jan) Winnerkrans and Sarah (Dave) Weber; twelve grandchildren; his brother, John S. Power; two nieces and a nephew.

Due to restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave will be laid to rest following a private funeral at St. Jude the Apostle Church and burial at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Wednesday, January 27, in Westlake Village, California. A public memorial will be held at a later date. Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to the National Coast Guard Museum Association (New London, Connecticut) or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.