Trucking loses legendary industry leader with passing of Jon Shevell, 50

John D. Schulz, Contributing Editor -- Logistics Management, 4/25/2008

The trucking industry lost a giant with the passing of Jon Shevell, Vice Chairman and a Director of New England Motor Freight (NEMF) and the Shevell Group of Companies, Elizabeth N.J. Mr. Shevell died in Los Angeles on March 3. He was 50.

Mr. Shevell was highly respected in and out of the industry. The son of Myron P. “Mike” Shevell, NEMF chairman and CEO, Mr. Shevell was a highly sought-after speaker at industry events, a champion of the industry and recipient of numerous honors related to his professional and philanthropic endeavors.

Contacted by Logistics Management, the elder Shevell was still mourning the loss of his only son. “I lost my only son, business partner, and best friend,” said Shevell, a highly respected and honored New Jersey business leader with more than 55 years of trucking experience. The elder Shevell had long groomed Jon to take over the business someday.

Besides his knowledge and insight of trucking, Mr. Shevell was a gregarious figure that could regale his audience with humor and his knowledge of sports and entertainment figures. It was not unusual when having a business lunch with Mr. Shevell for him to be regaling people at two or three other tables about the high cost of fuel, traffic tie-ups or last night’s Knicks’ loss in basketball.

Mr. Shevell was originally was from Edison, N.J., and lived the last 25 years in New York City. He was preparing to move to Los Angeles at the time of his death.

Mr. Shevell was a graduate of John P. Stevens High School in Edison N.J. where he was an outstanding scholar-athlete and was elected to the Alumni Hall of Fame. He also graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where he excelled in basketball and earned his Masters Degree. 

Following his graduation from Tufts University, and brief career playing professional basketball in Europe, Mr. Shevell joined NEMF when it was a small company that began in Patterson, N.J. Mr. Shevell served as vice chairman and executive vice president, responsible for NEMF's major accounts, helping build its revenue to more than $322 million last year. He was regarded as an industry leader in the areas of sales and marketing. Mr. Shevell received numerous honors related to his professional and philanthropic endeavors.

"Jon was a catalyst in much of the growth of the company," said Mike Shevell, noting the parent Shevell Group has grown to include 10,000 pieces of equipment and 40 terminals throughout the Northeast, Midwest, Puerto Rico, Canada. Through partnerships NEMF services 95 percent of the continental U.S.

In addition to his father, Mr. Shevell is survived by his sisters, Nancy Shevell and Susan Shevell Cohen, and several nieces and nephews. Contributions can be sent to the Arlene Walters Shevell Scholarship Foundation, 31 Hathaway Lane, Essex Falls, N.J. 07021.