Obituaries

V.N. ttNickyt' Hearn'Brewton, former pres. of Contractor's Supply & Lumber, Houston, Tx., died of cancer July 27.

She worked for Contractor's from 1955 to 1994, including 2O years as president.

She was a Lumbermen's Association of Texas director and committee chair, trustee and chair of the Insurance Fund, the first (and only) woman Lumberman of the Year, an LAT director to the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, and the first female pres. of the Greater Houston Lumber Dealers Association.

Vollie V. "Bud" Beaver, 80, owner of Beaver's Hardware & Building Materials, Benton, Ar., died of cancer and heart disease July 3l in Benton.

Born in Bauxite, Ar., he worked for Gingles Hardware, Benton, before serving in the Air Force during WWII. In 1945, he rejoined Gingles Hardware, starting Beaver's in 1965.

F. Wayne Dawson, 93, founder of Dawson Lumber Co., Shawnee, Ok., died July 17.

Born in Wanette, Ok., he was mgr. for H.E. Ketcham Lumber, Wanette, Ok., transferring to the Nowata yard in 1944. In 1947, he founded Dawson Lumber, retiring in 199t.

Gordon S. "Dut" Stimpson, 65, former co-owner of Gulf Lumber Co., Inc., Mobile, Al., died Aug. 1l in Little Rock, Ar.

Born in Mobile, he and his two brothers acquired Gulf, retiring and selling the business to their sons in 1991.

Charles Herschel "Chuck" Jennings, 52, director of sales for Causeway Lumber Co., Fort Lauderdale, Fl., died Sept. 12, 1995.

Born in New Orleans, La., he served in the Army in Vietnam. He joined Causeway as a forklift operator in 1969, working his way up to expeditor and director of operations. In 1986, he planned and oversaw the renovation of the Fort Lauderdale facility.

Wayne Kitchens, 46, assistant mgr.-wholesale department for T.H. Rogers Lumber Co., McAlester, Ok., died cancer Aug. I in McAlester. A native of McAlester. he served in the Navy before joining the lumber company in 1975.

Contract Revision OKed

Chicago Mercantile Exchange's proposal to cut in half the size of its Random Length lumber contract has been approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (see Building Products Digest, July, p. 49).

The change makes it easier for lumber industry participants to manage their price risk, the Exchange said. The new size reduces the deliverable, underlying commodity from two rail cars (160,000 bd. ft.) to one rail car (80,000 bd. ft.), a more common industry unit.

The change is now in effect for May 1996 and subsequent contract months.

Pallet Users Choose Wood

Approximately 98Vo of pallet users surveyed use wood pallets due to strength, cost and availability, according to a study by Cahner's Research.