ANCASTER, Ont. — The widow of the founder of the COM-CAR Owner Operators Association says she can’t keep it going anymore and COM-CAR will close its doors next Friday.

Joanne Joosse says she has struggled for the last three years to keep COM-CAR going as a “tribute” to her husband Art. Art Joosse started the association in 1976 and became a popular, well-known advocate for owner/operators. He died in 2000.

“I gave it my best shot. I worked really hard to keep this going,” she says, adding that she regrets having to fold the association but has no choice.

A loss of financial support, and news last September that a hoped-for merger would not happen, have taken their toll on Joanne Joosse. She says she “physically, emotionally can’t do this” anymore.

COM-CAR will cease operations on Jan. 24.

She says the association and owner/operators lost a lot when her husband died, and although she worked “side by side” with him, COM-CAR hasn’t been the same. “The joy of the job has gone out of it for me,” she says.

“I’d like to think that we had some part in the betterment of the education and overall situation for owner/operators. I really, truly, sincerely mean that,” she says.