William S. Shipley

II YORK William Stewart Shipley II (Bill), 84, died peacefully at home May 24 at 11 p.m. Born April 20, 1930, he was the son of Elizabeth MacEvoy Shipley and Samuel Hunt Shipley, and had an older brother, Samuel Hunt Shipley, Jr., all of whom lived in York and preceded him in death. Bill is survived by his loving wife of almost 59 years, Shirley Dahl Shipley, and their beloved children: William Stewart Shipley III (Michelle Landis) of York, PA, Linda Shipley Warren, MD ("Hootie" Warren, MD, PhD) of Bainbridge Island, WA, and Elizabeth Marion Shipley of Seattle, WA. He is also survived by their beloved grandchildren: Erin Shipley Shaffer (Andrew Shaffer) of State College, PA, Sarah Shipley Kuljevan (Francisco Kuljevan) of York, PA, Benjamin George Shipley of York, PA., Katherine Elida Warren, Sylvia May Warren and Houston Shipley Warren of Bainbridge Island, WA; and one beloved great-grandchild, William Paul Shaffer of State College, PA. He is also survived by his dear cousin, Sarah Bolton Stahl of York, PA. He attended Grantley School and York Collegiate Institute; graduated in 1946 from Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, MA; graduated in 1949 from Hebron Academy in Hebron, ME and earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration in 1953 from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, where he was a member of Chi Psi Fraternity. Bill also served in the United States Army Medical Reserve Corps in Philadelphia and Fort Benning, GA for six years. Following college, Bill worked for the C. V. Hill Company, manufacturers of commercial refrigeration in Trenton, New Jersey and the Lauderback-Cason Company, a Hill distributer in Tampa, Florida where he designed grocery stores and sold Hill commercial refrigeration on the west coast of Florida. On July 2, 1955, Bill married Shirley Marion Dahl of Livingston, NJ at the First Congregational Church of Montclair, NJ, officiated by the Reverend Doctor Allan Lorimer. Shirley and Bill moved to Sarasota, FL, and their son Bill was born there in 1956. In 1957, the family moved to York when he joined York Shipley Inc. as an administrative assistant assigned to the planning, leasing and building of the North Gate Shopping Center in North York. After the completion of the shopping center, Bill began work on January 6, 1958 as an assistant to the manager of Shipley-Humble, a division of York-Shipley, then located in a small, two-room brick building leased from the Schmidt and Ault Paper Company on Grantley Road. When the manager unexpectedly died, Bill became interim manager until the parent company could hire someone else to run the division. They never did. On October 22, 1958, Bill was named manager of Shipley-Humble and led the company to many years of growth through expansion of the customer base and acquisitions of other oil companies. Bill went on to become the first president in 1968 when the oil company became an independent organization. The company purchased a building and moved to 550 East King Street. It became one of the largest independently-owned petroleum distribution companies in the United States and one of the largest locally-owned companies in York and York County. The home office continues to be in York City. Bill was generous in giving to the York Community and surrounding areas. He established a scholarship at Lehigh University, mainly for York students. He also was dedicated to community service and was a member of the York Hospital Board for ten years, served on the board of Hamilton Bank (now Wells Fargo), was president of the Modern Heat Council, was York-Adams County Representative to the American Petroleum Institute, was chairman of the board of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Association, was national chairman of Exxon Distributers and belonged to the Petroleum Marketers Association of America. He belonged to the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Philadelphia Chapter, was a founder of both the YPO Pennsylvania Chapter and the Ocean Reef Presidents Organization. He also belonged to the World Presidents Organization. For many years, he served on the board of Hebron Academy in Maine. He belonged to the York Chamber of Commerce, York Chapter of Rotary International and worked for York Area Sports Night (founded by his father, Sam Shipley), the Boy Scouts, Little League Baseball, YMCA and many other organizations. He was a member of the Country Club of York, Regents Glen Country Club, Talbot Country Club in Easton, MD, the Key Largo Anglers Club, the Ocean Reef Club, Card Sound Golf Club and the Ocean Reef Yacht Club in Key Largo, FL and was co-founder of the York Boaters Society. Bill was a lifelong lover of music. He played the drums in the Lehigh University Band and for many years played in Dixieland jazz combos. One of his many joys was playing drums with his talented son, Bill, and talented grandson, Ben. He loved all sports, particularly ice hockey and tennis. His passion was being on his boat; enjoying fishing and cruising with his wife, Shirley, family and friends. Bill greatly enjoyed working at Shipley Energy and being with the outstanding people there; they were all special to him. He has been a member of The First Presbyterian Church of York since January 2, 1958, where funeral services were held Saturday, May 31, 2014. Private entombment was in Prospect Hill Cemetery. Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors, Inc., 863 South George Street, York, is in charge of arrangements. A memorial fund has been established at York College of Pennsylvania, which will bring outstanding musicians to the students and faculty of the Music Department as well as the entire college and the York community. It will feature, but will not be limited to, jazz, percussion and big band musicians. Those who wish to make a contribution may consider: The William Stewart Shipley II Fund for Music, York College of Pennsylvania, 441 Country Club Road, York, PA 17403 KuhnerAssociates.com