William Gully
May 13, 2019

William "Bill" Marion Gully, 91, of Quincy, IL took his last dispatch that was an expedited trip to HEAVEN to join his Lord and Savior for eternal peace in paradise. Bill departed Monday morning May 13, 2019 from St. Vincent's Nursing Home in Quincy, IL at approximately 1:45 AM.

Bill was born in 1927, in El Dara, IL to Joseph Ralph Gully and Mary Florine Gully (Loyd). His mother Mary Florine died one week after Bill's birth. He was raised by his father with the help of his grandmother, Flotilla "Tilly" Loyd. Later when his father remarried at age 11 he went to live with his oldest brother by 10 years, Lloyd.

Bill grew up in the Depression era of hard times. His father farmed, trucked livestock, and worked various jobs to try to make ends meet. Considering the hard times of farming in the depression, his father put all of the children to physical work on the farm at young ages.
When Bill was 14 years old he drove a gravel truck in the summer for Missouri Gravel at its rock quarry near Barry, on the plant property, as the rock was mined from the pit to the rock crusher.

In addition to the rock quarry experience Bill was attracted to trucks, trucking, and in particular driving. His father and older brothers had trucked hauling livestock from the Barry area to the Stockyards in East St. Louis, IL. As a boy Bill frequently made the trip with one of them.
In 1939 his brother Lloyd became a road driver for Riss & Company who had opened a Relay Terminal in Barry for its trucks operating between Kansas City and Chicago, IL. On weekends Bill would frequently make the trip from Barry to Chicago and return with his brother or one of the other Riss drivers. The drivers that he rode with started teaching and letting Bill drive during the trip when he was only 14-15 years old. Wimpy Skillman in particular mentored and took Bill most frequently.

At age 16 Bill went to work part-time after school, on weekends, and summers for Knaus Truck Line at its Barry Driver Relay shop in Barry, IL. Initially Bill fixed tires, serviced and washed the Knaus trucks. In 1944, during World War II, the country was experiencing a crucial driver shortage. While the legal driving age to drive Interstate (out of state, for example between IL and MO) was 21, the war efforts provided Bill the opportunity to start driving.

In the summer of 1944, before he even turned 17, the Road Boss (as the manager of the Relay Terminal was referred to then) was without a driver to take a load from Barry to Indianapolis. Bill was working in the shop. The Road Boss went out in the shop and asked him if he could take a load to Indianapolis. That trip would begin his lifelong career in trucking. When summer came to its end Bill spoke to his father about his desire to continue driving, rather than return to school to be a senior. His father stated he suspected that was coming and told him he could make that decision himself. This just prior to his 17th birthday in September, and was the launch of his full-time driving career. Even though the legal age was 21, the Interstate Commerce Commission was turning a blind eye because of the war efforts and driver needs.



During one of his trips to Indianapolis the truck engine became disabled. It was a weekend with no repair shop open. A mechanic agreed Bill could tear the engine down in his shop and then he would put it back together. That initiative caught the interest of top management in Kansas City that supported his continued employment, in spite of being under the 21-year legal age. Top management advocated on Bill's behalf frequently to the ICC and Insurance companies. Because of the labor shortage during the war and his job performance Bill was retained.

But when the war ended and drivers returned in 1947, Bill was bumped off Knaus by returning drivers. At age 20 he would purchase his first truck to lease to Healzer Cartage (also based out of Kansas City) to run out of its Pittsfield Relay. The ICC returned to enforcing the 21 year old minimum age requirement. Healzer would utilize Bill with his truck within the state of Illinois on its trips from Pittsfield, IL to Chicago and back.

The first two trucks he bought to lease to Healzer did not work out well. The second truck had a transmission jinx issue and was constantly broke down for repairs. During one of its breakdowns Bill was at the White dealer in Quincy waiting for its repair. The White dealer had a brand new truck on the showroom floor. He kept looking at his truck in the shop and the new one on the floor. (At the time the White truck dealer was in the location now occupied by Hilbing Autobody of Quincy.) Just months from elevating from driver to truck owner, Bill made the leap from a used truck to a brand new truck.

In 1951 Bill would advance from a one truck owner operator to a fleet operator with 8 trucks. They were all leased to Healzer to run its Kansas City to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Peoria routes relaying at Pittsfield, IL. He continued to drive as well as operating the 8 trucks. During the week he drove and on the weekends, with the help of a part-time mechanic, the two would service the trucks. That same year Bill bought his first Cummins diesel which started the conversion from gasoline powered trucks to diesels.

Bill most frequently ran the Pittsfield to Chicago route of the driver relay. It was at Healzer's Chicago terminal that he would meet Barbara Rose Kujawa in 1955. Barbra had started in the trucking industry in 1951 in the offices at various truck lines in Chicago.
The following year, 1956, would be a significant year. In January Bill bought not only his first new truck, but his first new fleet of 6 at one time. In April he would marry Barbara Rose. Barbara survives as the two reached 63 years of marriage almost one month before his earthly departure to Heaven.

Unfortunately 1958 would change the course of Bill's trucking operation. He had loved Healzer and his progression with them. Healzer sold to Arkansas Best Freight. ABF would eventually convert from leased trucks to company owned units. Despite their preferences, ABF had to honor the remaining length of the contract.

By now he had 11 trucks leased to them. The contract would be expiring and he would have 11 idle trucks. Fortunately events occurred that would prove that while one door may close God opens another. Bill's reputation as a reputable truck leasing fleet operator was recognized by motor carriers operating from Kansas City. A transaction was in progress of a carrier planning to convert from owner-operators, where its entire road operation the trucks were owned by its driver, to leasing its trucks from a leasing provider. The trucks at Healzer had been operated as Gully Truck Leasing owned as a dba by Bill and Barbara Gully.

The 1960's would advance Bill with his life partner to a continued accelerated pace of developing its trucking business. The 1960's and 1970's would include the leasing of trucks as road power to Common Carriers operating mostly on Relays between Chicago to Kansas City and the other cities in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.

One of the leases would be trucks to Hannibal Quincy Truck Lines of Hannibal, MO. From leasing it 3 road trucks the Gully's would progress to stockholders of
H & Q to owning 51 per cent of the stock by 1961 and purchasing the remaining 49 percent in 1966.

There were many developments in the family owned business:
1958 leasing 3 trucks to Hannibal Quincy Truck Lines
1959 purchase of 9 new White tractors to lease to Freightways of Wichita, KS to operate on its relays between Chicago, Kansas City, and Wichita, KS
1961 becoming majority stock holder of Hannibal Quincy
1961 the fleet livery of H & Q would become yellow and black after becoming majority stock holder (Prior fleet color had been red)
1964 purchasing a fleet of 14 new White Freightliner's to lease to Chicago Kansas City Freight Lines to run on its road operation relay between Kansas City to Chicago, Springfield, Bloomington, and Rockford, IL. That purchase would also be the start of Freightliner becoming the primary truck used by Gully for decades.
1965 H & Q would purchase Macon Kirksville Truck Lines. That purchase gave H & Q (as Hannibal Quincy was most commonly referred to as) additional authority to serve Kirksville and Moberly, MO.
1966 the purchase of the 49 percent stock held by its other owner.
1967 H & Q would open a Kansas City terminal with 4 road trucks as a truckload operation.
1967 construction of new terminal for H & Q in St. Louis
1968, April- H & Q would expand the Kansas City operation to include flatbeds to operate between Kansas City and Chicago.
1968, May- Gully Truck Leasing would purchase Nelson Truck Leasing to gain 21 trucks leased to Meinhardt Cartage of Quincy. Meinhardt operated between Quincy, Keokuk, and Chicago primarily.
1968, May- the Nelson purchase also included PIK Trucking that operated trucks just intrastate Illinois.
1968 construction of the new terminal and shop in Quincy, IL.
1969 purchase of Hinton Truck Leasing that added trucks leased to Prairie Farms Dairy.
1970 would be a very challenging year as result of a 6 week Teamster strike in St. Louis and 11 weeks in Chicago. H & Q largest terminal was St. Louis. Chicago Kansas City Freight Lines and Meinhardt Cartage both functioned around operating in and out of Chicago. The loss of revenue in 1970 would be a challenge.
1971 purchase of Canton Quincy Transfer to gain additional operating accounts.
1972 September the purchase of C L Connors of Quincy
1974 adoption of the blue and white colors for the fleet livery.
1975 became the beginning of being debt free. New equipment was paid for on delivery without financing.
1977 change of name of C L Connors to Gully Transportation.
1980 the trucking industry was deregulated. The dynamics of for-hire transportation changed drastically, just as it had in other regulated industries that became deregulated, such as the airline and banking industries.

Deregulation would negatively impact the H & Q business model. Fortunately the added opportunities by elimination of operating authority restrictions impacted the growth of the Gully Transportation business model.
Today Gully promotes itself as a 72-year-old company with continuous operation dating back to truck one in 1947 as Gully Truck Leasing. Gully also holds the record of being the oldest company with trucks in continuous operation in one form or another between Chicago and Kansas City on U. S. 36 No other company today has been operating trucks between Chicago and Kansas City as long as Gully on that route. The only other company operating prior to Gully between Chicago and Kansas City would be Yellow Freight Transit, now known as YRC. Back in the 40's Yellow operated on U.S. 40 to St. Louis then U.S. 66 to Chicago, whereas Gully has had trucks in one form or another on the U. S. 36 route to Springfield then U. S. 66 to Chicago, which is now known as Interstate 55.

Bill started as a user of White brand trucks. That led into the purchase of the first White Freightliners in 1964. In 1977 the marketing agreement between Freightliner and White was terminated, after which time the truck became known again as Freightliner.

For years Gully would be standard on Freightliner trucks, Fruehauf trailers, Cummins engines, Eaton Fuller transmissions, and Rockwell rear axle drive components. It was very difficult for competition to break his loyalty to those brands. On rare occasions, he would buy a few of another brand out of empathy for a persistent salesman.

Bill favored buying trucks regularly from his good friend Ronnie Hinton, who owned Hinton White Truck Sales and Service. When Hinton exited the truck dealership business, Gully would become the Freightliner dealer in Quincy in 1986. After the managers John and Diane Lock retired, he chose to sell the dealership to Midway Truck Sales of Kansas City. The partnership with Midway continues to this day and has been mutually beneficial for both Gully and Midway.

In addition to home office, terminal, and shop in Quincy, Gully has terminals in Kansas City, Macon, St. Louis, Keokuk, Chicago (Shorewood), and Indianapolis.

Bill is considered an industry icon. He never lost the humbleness from his early life of being poor as he became financially independent. While being regarded as a shrewd businessman he is also respected for his integrity, honesty, and generosity. He quietly supported many non-profit organizations confidentially.

Bill's life revolved around his family, trucks, and truck line. He was a devoted family man. Along with his wife and partner Bill was joined in the business by his son Michael that grew up following his father as a young boy. Bill's company was operated as a family team management of Bill, Barbara, and Michael. He took his daughters Jo Ann and Janet to the office when they were younger and kept them busy helping with odd jobs.

He possessed a work ethic admired and referenced by many. In his early years he had a relentless energy for often working 18 hours a day. He retained his love of driving for years. He drove on a regular basis and referred to it as his "golf days" to get away from the office and the phones. That was pre-cell phone days. He was very particular about the maintenance of his fleet of trucks. He gained a respectful reputation. In the brief time since his leaving us, the comments referring to the respect he had by so many has been flattering.

His favorite time era of trucking would be the 1940's through the 1980's. As society changed he adapted to the changes but frowned with the decline of society's morals and work ethic. He often stated the industry was much more professional pre-1995, not just the trucking industry but a societal decline.

Bill was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2006. His energy and medication did slow down the progression. Initially it was not publicly noticeable and he maintained his full schedule for several years. By 2012 the progression started to limit some of the day to day functions that he enjoyed. His pride and joy of the fleet was personally dispatching the tank fleet for years even at the age of 85. He discontinued coming in daily in 2014. Injury from a fall resulted in him being a resident of Bickford Assisted Living since July of 2017. In his later years he enjoyed watching sports, especially high school sports.

The most noteworthy of Bill's battle with Alzheimer's is he never forgot anyone. He continued to remember all family members. A driver would visit him that he had not seen in over a year and Bill would recognize the individual. He might ask them 10 times where they just came in from but he knew who they were. Until very recently his long-term memory from childhood and early years in the industry was phenomenal.

In addition to his wife survivors include four children, Sharon Kaye (Brad) Therrien of St. Charles, Mo., Michael (Ginny) Gully of Quincy, Jo Ann Gully of Columbia, MO., Janet (Dr. Steve) Liesen of Quincy; grandchildren, Renee (Adam) Bird of Nokomis, IL, Wills Nixon of Quincy, Rob Gully of Springfield, MO., Tegan (Marty) Nixon McCarl of Columbia, MO., Weston Liesen of Topeka, KS., Dr. Clayton Liesen of Boston, MA., Brandon (Alaina) Gully of Burbank, CA.; great-grandchildren, Isabel and Timothy Gully of Springfield, MO., Nick Bird of Nokomis, IL, Cassandra and Austin Workman of St. Charles, MO; his brother, Joseph "Jody" Gully of Barry, IL; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Lloyd, Leo, and Les, and a sister Leona.

SERVICES: There will be a Celebration of Life for family, friends, and team members on Saturday, June 8th at the Crossing at 1:30pm with Pastor Ken Hasekamp presiding. A luncheon will be held immediately following the service. If you can attend, please RSVP by June 1st via call or text to 217.224.4629 or luv2cropit@comcast.net.

Memorials can be made to: American Truck Historical Society, Alzheimer's Association, Blessing Hospice, Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network, Illinois Federation of Dog Clubs and Owners (IFDCO).

Website: www.hansenspear.com


Hansen-Spear Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

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