Obituaries

Maurice G. Grothues, 73, chairman of the board of M.G. Building Materials, San Antonio, Tx., died Sept. 15, 1997.

A veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, he was a partner in Guadalupe Lumber Co. until 1970. In 1972, he founded M.G. with his four sons, gradually expanding to six yards employing 200 people and sales of over $85 million.

LeRoy B. Roper, Sr., 77, chairman of Roper Brothers Lumber Co., Petersburg, Va., died Aug. l9 in Petersburg.

A native of Petersburg, he joined the company in 1946.

He served on every committee of the Virginia Building Material Association and was president in 1976. At the summer conference this year he was voted Honorary Membership.

Lillian Aitken, 72, administrative assistant for four c.e.o.s at the South- ern Forest Products Association, Kenner, La., died of cancer Sept. 9 in New Orleans, La.

She joined the association in 1944 after business college and remained administrative assistant until her retirement in 1990. It was the only job she ever had.

Scott Jobes, 57, sales manager for Fox-Gal Wholesale, Dallas, Tx., died of Crohn's disease Aug.6 in Dallas.

Born in Warren, Oh., Mr. Jobes joined Georgia-Pacific in sales in 1963 and worked his way up to regional lumber manager. In 1971, he joined Block Wholesale Lumber Co., Dallas, as a trader. In 1990, he hired on as a trader for Crandall Wholesale Lumber. A year later, he joined Foxworth-Galbraith Lumber Co.

Scotty's Lift Driver Killed

A forklift operator at Scotty's Busch Boulevard hardware store in Tampa, Fl., was killed, according to Tampa police, when his machine tipped and he was buried beneath his load.

Shawn Stacey Mcleandon, 24, had unloaded two 3,00G1b. bundles of 20ft. steel reinforcement bars from a flatbed ruck Aug. 12. As he fully exended the forks in the air to clear a tall, chainlink fence, the lift tipped over, ejected him and spilled part of the load on top of him, police said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Weather Lowers llower Sales

Outdoor power equipment sales during the last year lagged behind projections due to a cool, rainy spring followed by a summer drought, according to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.

For the 1997 model year ending Aug. 31, walk-behind mower shipments rcached 5,416,(X)0 units, a l% increase over 1996.

Front engine lawn tractor shipments rose 3% to I,155,000 units, while riding garden tractors fell about l0?o to 173,528 units. Rear engine riders dropped 22% to just over 101,000 unis.

Walk-behind tillers slipped 4% to 303,789 units.