Celebrating the Legacy of Shirley Roebuck
A Woman Who Transformed an Industry
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Shirley Roebuck, an icon of our industry in Hampton Roads and one of TMTA’s founding members, in the early morning hours of July 31st.
Shirley was instrumental in effecting positive change for all truckers in the Port of Virginia and her contributions to the motor carrier community were boundless. Through her participation on numerous boards and committees, she was respected for her commonsense approach and solving problems affecting the trucking community. She championed many organizations in Hampton Roads that support the transportation community. Her goal was to educate and help improve communication and collaboration for all transportation stakeholders. Motor carriers were blessed to have had Shirley on their side.
In 1975, Shirley started Gilco Trucking Company, Inc. with her husband Tom, and it quickly grew to be a national trucking company under her guidance. In the beginning, she was the only woman in a room of men, asking the important questions they were not. Shirley wasn’t shy and forged ahead despite their silence and stares. She collaborated with port leaders and developed valuable relationships with the owner-operator labor force. She helped mentor and educate small business truckers on intermodal transportation and how to make a successful business out of containerized cargo and brought them in as family. She proved her father wrong when he said she couldn’t make a living on hauling cargo containers. She spent the next 45 years building a strong, successful company doing just that.
Shirley Gilliland Roebuck took ownership of Gilco and transformed the company to what it is today. One of Shirley’s crowning achievements was creating an environment where owner-operators could “earn an honest wage”, breaking the ceiling for independent business owners in the community.
Shirley was widely respected as a titan of industry – earning her place as the first female member of The Propeller Club, and first female president of The Virginia Maritime Association.