Willis Dean Shaw

Willis Dean Shaw, 95, of Fayetteville died April 20, 2014, at Circle of Life Hospice, Springdale, Ark. He was born Aug. 29, 1918, in Custer County, Okla., to George Howard and Eva Lena Shepard Shaw. He spent the happiest years of his life with his wife of 72 years, Helen Lorene Dodd, who preceded him in death. He is survived by two sons and their families, Bobby and wife, Diane, of Springdale, Dennis and wife, Evelyn, of Tontitown; four grandchildren, Sherri Dillard and husband, Jeff, of Fayetteville, Brian Shaw and wife, Lynn, of Fayetteville, Jason Shaw and wife, Jennifer, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Damon Shaw of Fayetteville; eight great-grandchildren, Austin and Ashlyn Dillard, Connor, Mason, Jacob, Caitlyn, Spencer and Ainsleigh Shaw. Willis was a highly respected business leader in Arkansas. His name was most identified with Willis Shaw Express of Elm Springs, a company he founded in 1938, with its beginnings as Willis Shaw Produce. Willis Shaw Express developed into one of the nation's most successful specialized truckload carriers. After selling the company to Del Monte in the early 1970s, he worked for a time as vice president of Distribution Systems, Inc., Del Monte's transportation holding company. Willis participated with a family and employee group, Shaw Investors, to repurchase Willis Shaw Express in 1983. Four years later the company was acquired by Comcar Industries and continues to operate out of Elm Springs. As with most of his generation, growing up in the Great Depression had a profound effect on him. He moved to Texas at the age of 16 to find work and there joined the National Guard. During these difficult years, Willis exhibited the beginnings of a lifetime embracing the entrepreneurial spirit, trying a variety of jobs. He worked with Elm Springs friends in a gold mine in California; he transported paying passengers to California in his Model A Ford; he transported apples from Rupple Farm in Fayetteville to markets in Oklahoma. He also hauled coal from Clarksville in his flatbed truck at night, and then in the daytime cleaned and refitted it with benches to transport rural children to and from the Elm Springs school. Prior to starting Willis Shaw Express, he and his wife, Lorene, were active in the poultry and produce business of the area. They partnered in Kever and Shaw Feeds, which operated a feed mill, hatchery and poultry farms. Willis was a pioneer in the development of long-haul transportation of live poultry. After he entered the refrigerated transportation business, he introduced several trucking innovations that positively affected the growth of that industry. As a leader in the transportation industry, he was a founder of the Refrigerated Division of the Truckload Carriers Conference of the American Trucking Association and was active in the Arkansas Transportation Association. Willis also served 12 years as regional director of the National Defense Reserve for Arkansas, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 1988, he received the President's Award from the Northwest Arkansas Transportation Society for his leadership in the industry. In 1998, a group of more than a hundred former employees honored him with a surprise banquet and presented him with a trophy engraved "To Our Hero," with the added inscription "Those of us who were your drivers in the 1950s have observed your activities into the 90s and we always think of you as a symbol of honor and integrity." Through the years, Willis served on numerous boards: Springdale Savings and Loan Association, Tri-State Motor Transit, Arkansas Truck Lease Company, Arkansas White Motor Company, First National Bank of Springdale and The Bank of San Francisco. As an active community citizen, he was a member of the Beaver Lake Development Board, which helped establish the Beaver Lake Reservoir, the Board of the Springdale School District for 10 years and the Board of the Springdale Memorial Hospital for 29 years and the Board of the Rodeo of the Ozarks. In 2007, the new elementary school in the Elm Springs area was named Willis D. Shaw Elementary School to honor his service and contributions. The Rodeo of the Ozarks Board recognized him in 2008 by asking him to serve as Grand Marshal of the longstanding Fourth of July Parade. Willis and Lorene were committed to giving back to their community. They valued the gift of education beyond what they were able to attain, and so they established the Willis Shaw Scholarship Fund, which provided college scholarships for more than 100 children of company employees. Longtime members of the Elm Springs Methodist Church before joining the First United Methodist Church of Springdale, they supported both churches. They jointly established the Willis and Lorene Shaw Charitable Trust for the benefit of many local educational, medical and social charities. In addition, they were long-standing supporters of the University of Arkansas Athletic Scholarship Program. Willis traveled extensively throughout his life, and in his retirement years, winters were spent with his wife, Lorene, in Palm Springs, Calif., where they both enjoyed playing golf and entertaining friends and family. In his later years, he enjoyed being an investor and a trusted advisor to those close to him. In 2009, he was named to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame established by the Sam M. Walton School of Business. He was able to enjoy the induction ceremonies in Little Rock at the age of 90, along with many relatives, friends and former employees. During his last years at Butterfield Trail Village, his caregivers included Angela Brown, Virginia Daniels, Rhonda Draper, Brenda Dowell, Janice Friend and Evevone Phillips. The Shaw Family wishes to express utmost gratitude for their enriching his final years in such a loving way. A private burial will be held this week in Elm Springs and the family will have a memorial service at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 25, at the Springdale First United Methodist Church at 206 W. Johnson St., with a family visitation following in the church atrium. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, Willis be remembered in a lasting way with memorial gifts to the Elm Springs United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 8, Elm Springs, AR 72728; or the First United Methodist Church, 206 W. Johnson St., Springdale, AR 72764. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Sisco Funeral Chapel of Springdale. Online condolences may be left at www.siscofuneral.com.