I got a call from my old truck show buddy, Tom Kyrk. Lately, my conversations with Tom have seemed to revolve around who just died from the old Great American Trucking Show gang. Just a few weeks ago, it was Bill Weaver.
A longtime gearjammer turned terminal manager, Tom Kyrk had some solemn news. This time it was Les Willis, the dapper and immensely capable FedEx-leased small fleet owner and, among a myriad of other successful enterprises, the organizer of a live concerts and auctions in the GATS parking lot, dedicated to fundraising for industry charities.
Talk about troubles coming in twos.
Les Willis at the Great American Trucking Show, Dallas, circa 2016Photo by Denise Marhoefer
There had been no falling out, no online-driven estrangement, just the insidious post-pandemic drift that manifests itself when you’re shocked to hear of the passing of someone you haven’t spoken to in years. So, though it’s been a minute since we’ve talked, Les Willis deserves to be remembered for the man he was.
Looking back now for the second time in more or less as many weeks on the friendships formed in the truck parking lot of GATS, it was Les more than anyone who poured his time, treasure and sweat into building those moments of unalloyed joy that can only occur in the physical presence of others. He spearheaded the creation of a space there where people of widely divergent backgrounds could hang out together and bond as truckers.
According to retired owner-operator Rick Ash, who with Willis volunteered his time to help at the show, everything Les did in that parking lot was pro bono.
“The folks at Randall Reilly back in 2015 approached Les and me because they wanted to make the show even more driver-focused than it had been before," Ash said. "They asked Les if he could take over the arrangement and organization of all the events that went on out at the truck parking lot."
Said fellow GATS volunteer and longtime trucker Idella Marie Hansen, “I loved Les. I’ve seen him give [people] his hotel room and sleep in his pickup truck if they were traveling in from out of town. He didn’t hesitate a minute.”
Desiree Wood of Real Women in Trucking remembered Les Willis this way:
"We wish to offer our most sincere condolences to his family. Les Willis will be remembered by RWIT for his hard work and dedication during the Great American Truck Show in Dallas. He always went the extra mile to help. We recall one year how he was able to coordinate electricity and water to make the doggie day care and grooming a success out in the middle of the lot. Les was instrumental in turning a truck parking area into a fun annual reunion of fond memories for many of us. He will surely be missed.”
Willis on the truck parking lot stage at GATS.
Finally, David Willis wrote, Les "loved being with his family.”
Les Willis, photo courtesy of his brother, David Willis
Back in 2016 there was an auction for TruckersFinalMile.org Les had helped to organize. Tony Justice had put his cowboy hat up and it brought a ton of money. Maybe $500, $600. I thought, What the heck, I’m no Tony Justice, but let’s see what this baby will bring. I put up my battered-and-stained fedora.
Les won the bid at $100, then put the hat back on my head. “There’s too many good ideas under that hat to let it go to waste,” he said.
Godspeed, ol' pard.
In GATS' final in-person year in 2019 in Dallas, in addition to organizational activity in the truck parking area, small fleet owner Les Willis contributed to this Overdrive Partners in Business panel discussion on the show floor, one of a myriad times he lent the wisdom of his trucking experience to editors here. For that, we are grateful. Condolences to his family.
