A Journeyman Engineer of some 50 years, Lecil Alexander left us suddenly on December 6, 2021, after a tragic bout with pancreatic cancer. Lecil came to our industry as an Engineering Manager at Clary Corporation in Texas, having already earned his professional standing. After that formative experience serving many truss plants for a plate supplier, he devoted the bulk of his career to structural engineering for component manufacturers. In the mid-1980s, he moved to North Carolina to manage the design department for Northwest Structural Components in Kernersville. There he reviewed thousands of truss designs and countless truss repairs. When Northwest was acquired by Shoffner Industries several years later, Lecil relocated to Shoffner’s central design office in Burlington, NC, where he spent the remainder of his distinguished career. During his tenure for Shoffner, he supported fourteen truss plants covering seven Eastern states.
In 1998, when Universal Forest Products (UFP) acquired Shoffner Industries, Lecil became part of the largest residential truss manufacturer in the U.S. By then, he had begun specializing in truss repairs for the former Shoffner plants which now became UFP’s Mid-Atlantic division. Lecil found his calling in tackling the most difficult structural issues with the greatest sense of urgency, becoming UFP’s most capable problem solver.
Lecil was an old school professional in the most laudatory sense. He labored long and hard with his head down at his trademark drafting board, eschewing a modern workstation. He applied his considerable expertise to the great advantage of UFP and was a devoted teacher and mentor to others, as attested by Dr. Frank Woeste, Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech:
“I knew Lecil for decades and reached out to him numerous times for input on truss design issues and education needs for building designers, component manufacturers, and installation contractors. Regardless of the issue, his feedback and opinions embellished the conduct of a professional engineer: Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. Over the years, he gave lectures at our Virginia Tech short courses and was the instructor for a couple of two-day courses on wood truss repair. Lecil was generous by helping me and others that he had met at the VT short courses. I especially appreciated the fact that he was open, freely shared his engineering knowledge, and was trustworthy.”
Outside of work, Lecil was a devoted family man and outstanding neighbor who somehow found time for prodigious pastimes. He described his custom-built residence as a “home built on top of his shop.” Following his retirement in 2018, he was able to spend more time there tinkering with his classic Model A Ford and exercising his carpentry skills.
Lecil lived a full, exemplary personal and professional life; a life truly worth living. He will be incredibly missed by his family, friends, and the component industry.