Born: United States of America
Primarily active in: United States of America

1932-2019

Lloyd Shoppa, 86, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter, 1995-1997, died February 11, 2019.

Shoppa was born Aug. 31, 1932, to Adolph and Christina Shoppa on a farm in Wharton, Texas. While at Wharton High School, he played on the 1950 State Football Championship team. He was captain of the basketball team and went to the State Championship in track his junior year. He also played trombone in the high school band. He attended Wharton County Junior College on a football scholarship and later attended and graduated from The University of Texas.

After graduating from UT, Shoppa accepted a job in process improvement with Texaco. In 1964, he started his 34-year career at Bell Helicopter as a systems engineer. Shoppa served in several capacities, including president of Bell Helicopter Textron Canada and eventually president and CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron until retirement in 1997.

Shoppa supported his children in their lives and in their business endeavors, becoming Chairman and Director of Shoppa’s Farm Supply, a John Deere dealership owned by his son Chris, and Chairman of Shoppa’s Material Handling, a Toyota Industrial Equipment distributor owned by his son Jim. In 1997, Shoppa was honored by being inducted into the National Management Association Hall of Fame in recognition of significant personal and professional contributions to the development of management and leadership. Shoppa was also active in civic affairs, serving as president of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford School Board, as well as its Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Euless, served on the board of directors for Texas Commerce Bank and Chase Bank, and was the Director of Capital Farm Credit Board.

Vertical Flight Society: Vertiflite May/June 2019