Family First: A Catholic-owned business is shaped by faith and virtue

Lauren and Mike Trana with their six children. “We want to keep family first,” Lauren said. (ICR photos/Joe Egbert)

By Emily Woodham

Staff Writer

Lauren and Mike Trana did not have an elaborate business plan when they got married in 2009. However, their family business, River Valley Auto Repair, has stayed successful through economic downturns, a pandemic and all the unpredictability of raising a family of six children.

“We’ve always been of the mindset to do what’s best for the family,” Lauren Trana said. “We’ve made our decisions through prayer and discernment.”

Mike and Lauren met in 2007 although their paths had crossed years before. They both attended Holy Spirit Parish in Meridian, which eventually consolidated with St. Matthew’s Parish in Eagle to form Holy Apostles Parish in north Meridian. They both attended Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, but because Mike was five years older, they were never on campus at the same time. After high school, they both left the Catholic faith.

“We met in a recovery group with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Mike was already involved again with the Church, but I had just come back to the faith. We got to know each other doing charitable work together,” Lauren said.

They started dating at the beginning of 2008. “Mike went to daily Mass at Holy Apostles and was really active in the church. We talked a lot about the faith,” she explained. During that time, Mike was studying the Theology of the Body by Pope St. John Paul II through books by author and speaker Christopher West.

“I would read Christopher West’s books in Adoration and really pray about how to apply Theology of the Body to my life,” Lauren continued. “Mike and I talked a lot about Theology of the Body before we got married.”

Just months after they began dating, Mike was laid off, and decided to start his own auto repair business, Michael’s Mobile Autoservice.

“He would go to people’s houses to repair their cars. Because he knew so many people from daily Mass, he never needed to advertise. He also helped people in AA with their cars so they could keep going to work. He did a lot for people who were trying to get their lives back on track. Even though the economy was really bad at that time, he always had business.”

Lauren and Mike Trana at the new location for their business, River Valley Auto Repair. (ICR photo/Joe Egbert)

But continuing in auto repair was not what Mike envisioned for the rest of his life. After the couple married at Holy Apostles on August 15, 2009, he went to Boise State to pursue a degree in counseling.

“He loves helping people, and he’s really good with academics. So, he had no trouble taking classes while keeping up with his business,” Lauren said.

Lauren became pregnant on their honeymoon. Because of her severe morning sickness, she had to quit her job.

“After Miryana was born, I just knew my calling was to be a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “Mike totally supported that calling. He looked me in the eye, told me not to worry about it, and that we would make it work.”

Mike went back to work for the powerline company after their first child, Miryana, was born.

“He really wanted to provide well for our family, but he had to travel a lot. The powerline company had fleets in different states, including Kansas and Texas. So, he was gone a lot.”

Lauren began having complications during her third pregnancy in 2013.

“It was then that we decided it wasn’t worth it to have Mike work for a large corporation,” she said. “It just wasn’t good for the family for him to be gone so much. So, we opened Trana’s Garage.”

They used property near his parents’ house in Meridian to set up shop for his auto repair business. Around that time, they found a larger home for their growing family in Boise and joined St. Mark’s Parish.

They tried to sell their property in Meridian, but each time it fell through. Mike continued his work at his garage in Meridian. He also decided to pursue a degree in counseling again at Boise State. Although he did well in his classes, he discerned that God wanted him to be involved in his work as a mechanic.

“People often just open up to him about things while they’re hanging out at the shop waiting for their car,” Lauren said. “He really listens to them.”

At the beginning of 2025, the company had grown so much that they needed to move. “It was definitely a God-thing when we found the building in Boise for our business,” she explained. “We really needed to move; Mike had more work than he could do on his own. Every now and then, he would hire someone to help him, but the garage in Meridian was too small to have more than one employee. So, we rebranded as ‘River Valley Auto Repair,’ and we found a new garage in March in Boise.”

They now have three mechanics and the space to work on more than one car at a time. Lauren also works part-time as the office manager.

“Mike goes above and beyond to help customers with their cars. He still works on cars even though he’s a supervisor, but it’s so nice because the business isn’t completely dependent on him now. It gives him more freedom.”

The arrangement has given Mike more time with family.

“Our oldest is at Bishop Kelly now,” Lauren explained. “We are homeschooling our five other kids through a co-op, St. Benedict’s Academy in Eagle. The time just flies by, and we want to keep family first.”

For more information about River Valley Auto Repair, visit rivervalleyautorepair.com.