NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
Setting
the right
foundation
EngInEErIng StUdEntS
frOM PSU gO handS-On
at BrIckLaYEr traInIng
cEntEr.
About a dozen engineering
students from Portland
State University experi-
enced the art of bricklaying
June 8 at the Oregon &
Southwest Washington Ma-
son Trades Joint Appren-
ticeship Training Center in
Northeast Portland.
The students laid some
block and brick walls, and
worked with grout under
the instruction of training
coordinator Shawn Lenc-
zowski, Local 1 President
Matt Eleazer (top photo),
and Local 1 field represen-
tative Mike Titus (photo
lower left).
The training class provides
a unique opportunity for
engineering students to
learn and practice masonry.
“Engineers and architects know how to draw it, but they don’t know how it all comes together,”
Eleazer said. “This allows us to get in front of them and show them the value of what we do. And it
gives engineers and architects a greater appreciation of what we do.”
The masonry design class at PSU is taught by Steve Hawk, a professional and structural engineer at
Coffmann Engineering.
Arrangements were made by Tom Young, executive director at the Northwest Concrete Masonry As-
sociation, which helps educate architects and engineers on the benefits of using concrete masonry
in the design of their buildings.
July 7, 2017 | PAGE 5
IN MEMORIAM
Gary Dean Will
Jan. 5, 1938 - June 15, 2017
Gary Will, a former directing
business representative of Ma-
chinists District Lodge 24,
passed away June 15 at his
home in Woodburn. Cause of
death was congestive heart fail-
ure. He was 79.
Will joined Machinists Lodge
1432 in 1959 after taking a job
at Zidell Explorations. He was
appointed as a business agent in
August 1970 and later was
elected to a full term.
In 1974, when District Lodge
24 was changed from an organ-
izing district to a full-service
district, Will was appointed as
administrative assistant to then
directing business representative
(DBR) Bob Kennedy. When
Kennedy was elected president
of the Oregon AFL-CIO in
1975, Will succeeded him as
DBR.
Will held the post until 1981,
when the International Associa-
tion of Machinists and Aero-
space Workers (IAMAW) ap-
pointed him as a grand lodge
representative and assigned him
to serve the Klamath Falls and
Coos Bay areas. In 1986, he was
transferred to the international
union’s Portland office and as-
signed to handle cases before
the National Labor Relations
Board.
In 1990, he started his 11-
year assignment at the IA-
MAW’s headquarters in the
Washington, D.C., area. When
he retired in 2001, he was an ad-
ministrative assistant to the
union’s then international presi-
dent, George Kourpias.
Will told the Labor Press in
February 2003 — when he was
named to Labor’s Hall of Fame
— that a highlight of his career
in D.C. was working on the
merger that brought the Interna-
tional Woodworkers, USA, into
the Machinists in 1994.
During his years with Lodge
1432 and District Council 24,
Will chaired
the North-
west Machin-
ists Health
and Welfare
Trust Fund
and was a
trustee on the
Western Metal Pension Plan, the
Truck Operators League Health
and Welfare Trust Fund, and the
Northwest Machinists Dental
Benefit Trust Fund.
Will also served on the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO Executive Board
and was a delegate to the Mult-
nomah County Labor Council
(now the Northwest Oregon La-
bor Council). In addition, he
was active in the Oregon Ma-
chinists Council and the Oregon
Machinists Non-Partisan Politi-
cal League.
In 1980, Will was honored as
the International Guiding Eyes
Inc.’s Achievement Award win-
ner for his work on behalf of the
California-based charitable dog-
training organization which was
started by the Machinists Union
in 1948.
G EORGE D EAN W ILL was
born in Waterloo, Iowa, Jan. 5,
1938 and moved to Oregon with
his family four years later. He
attended grade school in Hub-
bard and Eugene and high
school at Oxnard, Calif., and
North Marion High in Aurora.
He joined the United States
Army Security Agency in 1956
and served as an aircraft me-
chanic in Korea and at the U.S.
Army War College in Carlisle,
Pa. While at the latter post, he
attended night school and
earned his high school diploma.
He was preceded in death by
his wife of 56 years, the late
Mary Lou Will. Together they
had six children, and 32 grand
and great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life was held
June 24 at St. Luke’s Catholic
Church in Woodburn. In lieu of
flowers, contributions may be
made to St. Luke’s Catholic
School.
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