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Bradley E. Shelley, former executive vice president of West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau (WCLIB), passed away on January 2 at the age of 77. He is survived by his wife Ellen, his children and their spouses, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and several siblings.
Brad was a graduate of UC Davis and served in the Peace Corps in Central America. Following that, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he received an honorable discharge to care for his family after his father passed away. He was a devoted member of his church and gave his time volunteering to help support it.
Brad began his employment with West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau in the technical department in April 1977 and was promoted to Technical Director where he was a very active participant on many industry committees including American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) and ASTM. Brad assumed the role of WCLIB Executive Vice President in 1989 until his retirement from the Bureau in June of 2010. He came back to WCLIB for a short period of time in 2018 as a Special Projects Manager.
Brad was extremely knowledgeable on technical procedures and statistics and his expertise in these areas were called upon often during the development of critically important lumber standards and policies, often chairing the committees that maintained them. He was intimately involved with the In Grade lumber testing program and co-authored many papers and standards that were fundamental to the development of the lumber design values we use today. In 1995, Brad’s contributions were officially recognized by ASTM International when he was awarded the prestigious L.J. Markwardt Award for his extensive contributions to the D07 Committee on wood. Brad cared deeply about the wood industry and his WCLIB membership. His passing represents a huge loss of technical knowledge for the wood industry.