Samuel J. Zito, a sprightly centenarian who had operated Zito Buick Services in Baltimore for 40 years, died of respiratory failure Friday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 100.

Mr. Zito, a 51-year resident of East Lake Avenue who would have been 101 next month, was born in Baltimore. One of seven children of Italian immigrant parents, he was raised on Pennsylvania Avenue, where his father owned a confectionery and fruit store.

His entrepreneurial instincts began early, when he was delivering newspapers at the age of 6. He swept the floors of a barbershop after school for 50 cents a week, and as a 14-year-old delivered singing telegrams for Western Union.

Mr. Zito was a graduate of Polytechnic Institute and served briefly in the Navy in 1918. "He even boxed for a while under the name of Young Patterson, and his mother had a fit," said a daughter, Dolores R. Shaw of Hunt Valley, laughing.

In the 1920s, he went to work for Neild Buick on Sisson Street, learning to repair automobiles.

"Mr. Neild took a liking to him, and when the business went under in the Depression, he let my father rent the building for a very low rent," Mrs. Shaw said.

In 1931, Mr. Zito established Zito Buick Services, which he later moved to Oliver Street. In 1947, he relocated the business to 701 Whitelock St.

In addition to repair work, Mr. Zito offered overnight or long-term auto storage. Cars were also washed, waxed and delivered to customers, family members said.

"He was serious and hard-working and the kind of man who turned himself inside out for his customers," Mrs. Shaw said.

Clark H. Carter, a Baltimore insurance executive, described Mr. Zito as a "character" and a "man of zest and generosity."

"My grandfather and father were customers of Mr. Zito's. When my father was 17 or so, he took my grandfather's car, which was a Packard or another big car of the time, out for a spin and dented the fender," Mr. Carter said. "He took it to Mr. Zito, who said he would fix it and not tell his father."

Mr. Zito closed the auto repair business in 1970, and finally retired in 1975 when he ended the storage business.

In 1924, he married Ruby Haensler, who died in 1977.

Mr. Zito led a vigorous and independent lifestyle almost to the end of his life. A gracious and charming man, he enjoyed entertaining and dancing, family members said. "He did not miss anything in life and enjoyed every minute," said Susan C.L. Theuns, treasurer of the Baltimore City Kiwanis, where he had been a member for 50 years. "He was an old flirt who loved the ladies and liked to dance."

Mr. Zito enjoyed working on home improvement projects, exercised every morning, and rode an exercise bike he had set up in a room in his home.

"When he was 98 he put down a new floor in the kitchen, hauling in all the plywood by himself. When he was 99, he purchased a new Oldsmobile so he could drive to Home Depot and the Giant," Mrs. Shaw said.

It was only after attaining centenarian status that he started taking medicine.

"He relied upon his mother's home and herbal remedies for cures to medical problems. He also believed in Mother Nature," Mrs. Shaw said.

"When he had a sore throat, he'd take a little pickle juice. His treatment for sore fingers was soaking them in Epsom salts. Hot baths and cold showers got rid of aches and pains," she said.

While he never smoked, Mr. Zito enjoyed a Manhattan cocktail before dinner.

"He really didn't follow a special diet and ate everything," she said.

Until he was 94, Mr. Zito enjoyed sailing and working on the Dozi-Jo, his Chris-Craft cabin cruiser named for his two daughters.

Services were held Monday.

In addition to Mrs. Shaw, Mr. Zito is survived by another daughter, Joan A. Schuh of Baldwin; five grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.