Our History
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Schell Lumber history
Purchased in April of 1922 by Wesley Schell, the “Stouffville Planing Mill” commenced the birth of Schell Lumber’s history. The planing mill was originally founded to supply local farmers with materials needed to build farms and repair wagons and other items. The Mill was soon renamed Schell Lumber in 1928 after Wes took full ownership of the company. Wes eventually handed the company down to his sons Percy, who ran the store and office, and Harry, who ran the famed “Harry’s Workshop” until his passing in October 2019. Percy, now 92 years old, still works four days a week in the office and is very much a vital part of Schell Lumber’s operations.
In the late 1980s, Wes’s grandsons Ron (Percy’s son) and Steve (Harry’s son) took over operations of the family business. Ron managed the store while Steve managed the yard. Ron suddenly passed away in February of 2022, shortly before Schell Lumber’s 100th anniversary. Before his passing, Ron handed down his share of the business to his son Kyle, marking the fourth generation of Schells to own and operate Schell Lumber. The business is still full of the Schell family, to say the least. On Harry’s side, Steve’s son Dan co-runs the yard with Steve, while his other son Jeremy took over Harry’s Workshop in Harry’s later years. On Percy’s side, all of Ron’s children are still in the business today while Percy’s late son Larry worked in both the store and yard for decades until his unfortunate passing in the winter of 2020. Percy’s daughters Jan and Judy run the accounting department in the office, while their respective children have all worked in the company for several years.
In 2001, Schell Lumber expanded to Sutton, which is not surprisingly run by Simon Kennedy, a Schell himself. Sutton has several Schell family members working at the location and has since become a vital aspect of our business’s operations in years gone by. In April of 2022, Schell Lumber celebrated our 100th-year anniversary, marking a milestone in the Stouffville community. A public celebration occurred that summer. While the family business is now in its fourth generation of operations, several of Wes’s great-grandchildren have had children of their own, marking a fifth generation of Schells to one day be a part of Schell Lumber’s operations.
Family Members
Wesley Schell
Born on Oct 26th, 1898, Wesley “Wes” John Schell lived in York Region all his life and presided in Stouffville for most of it. Along with his business partner Clayton Stouffer, Wes purchased the Stouffville Planing Mill in April of 1922. The mill was founded in 1878 for the purpose of providing local farmers with lumber material, and was one of the first commercial buildings in Stouffville’s history.
In 1928, Wesley became the sole owner of the business, and renamed it to Schell Lumber shortly following. Shortly after World War 2, Wes’s sons Harry and Percy began working at the store, where they eventually inherited the business from him. Wes and his wife, Susan Bailey, married in 1924. They had two more children, Arnold and Marie, who eventually became a principal and a nurse, respectively.
Wes Schell eventually passed away on April 3rd, 1984, at the age of 85. Susan lived for three more years until her passing in 1987, joining her husband of 60 years buried in Stouffville. Schell Lumber has since seen two more generations of Schells join and operate the family business, with a fifth generation not far behind.
Harry Schell
Harry Schell was born to Wes and Sue Schell on Christmas Eve in 1926. A lifelong Stouffville resident, Harry grew up on Victoria street in town. After World War 2, Harry and his brother Percy began working at Schell Lumber. They both eventually co-owned the company, where Harry ran the sash and door shop and Percy ran the office.
Harry and his wife of 71 years, Barbara, had four children; Sue, Sally, Sandy, and Steve, who of course went on to inherit Harry’s side of the family business. Sandy’s son Simon now runs the Sutton location, while Steve’s sons Jeremy and Dan also work in the business. Jeremy runs the shop, while Dan co-runs the lumber yard with Steve. Referred to as “Pa” by his nine grandchildren, Harry now also has ten great grandchildren.
The sash and door shop was Harry’s calling. His two right hand men were Glen Buyer, who learned woodworking from his father, and Harry’s grandson Jeremy, who learned all that he knows from his grandfather. Jeremy now runs the woodshop that has since been renamed “Harry’s Custom Woodshop” in honour of Harry.
Harry worked in the woodshop well into his 90s, and eventually passed in October of 2019. Harry’s visitation was held in the woodshop shortly after, not surprisingly seeing hundreds of visitors. Harry was a proud and active member in the Stouffville community. He served on local School boards, the rink board, managed hockey and baseball teams, and was a valued member of his church, Stouffville United. Harry was best known as a family man above all else, and will forever be etched into both Schell Lumber’s and Stouffville’s history.
Percy Schell
Percy Schell was born to Wes and Sue Schell on December 28th, 1930. Percy also grew up on Victoria street in Stouffville, along with his three siblings. He began working in his father’s business after the second world war along with his brother Harry. Percy ran the office while Harry ran the woodshop. Percy and Harry eventually split ownership of Wes’s business and ran the business for several decades.
Percy married his wife, Dorothy (Dot) in 1952. They had five children, Marilyn, Larry, Ron, Judy, and Jan. Larry worked between the store and the lumber yard for the majority of his life before his passing in 2020, while Ron eventually took Percy’s ownership in the business until his passing in 2022. Both Judy and Jan run the accounting department at Schell Lumber, working alongside Percy every day. Percy still handles bookkeeping for the business, well into his 93rd year.
As a leader in his community, Percy is always committed to making Stouffville a better place. As an owner of Schell Lumber, Percy donated to a variety of charities and community organizations such as the Stouffville Lawn Bowling Club. He also invested his personal time in organizations such as Music Mania, The Lion’s Club, and the York South Association for Community Living.
Alike to his brother Harry, Percy is a family man above all else. Percy is extremely proud that almost all of his grandchildren have worked in/still work in the family business. His grandson Kyle is now the part-owner and operations manager, while most of his grandkids also work in the business. Percy and Dot now have five great-grandchildren who lovingly refer to them as the “GG’s”.
Ronald Schell
Ron Schell was born to Percy and Dot Schell on October 6th, 1957, and raised in Stouffville. Ron was a well-known member of his community growing up, as well as a strong athlete, earning the nickname “Ron the Bomb”, which (he made sure) stuck for the rest of his life.
Ron began working at Schell Lumber in the main store during his adolescence, before leaving Stouffville to obtain his engineering degree at the University of Toronto, and his MBA at Western University. He worked for Gray Engineering before returning to Stouffville and taking ownership of Percy’s half of the business. Ron was well known for his humour, and could always be found somewhere in the store making customers and other employees laugh.
Not surprisingly, Ron was also famously known for his family values. Ron and his wife Monica had three children; Kyle, Chris, and Sarah. He was a proud father and late in his life became a proud grandfather of his three young grandchildren. Like his father Percy, Ron was also a community man. In addition to years of coaching in Stouffville’s minor hockey association, Ron was dedicated to building hockey rinks in the community (which were annually featured on CTV), and donating the material himself. He was known in his own neighbourhood for the large rink he built every winter for the neighbourhood kids and families. Ron was also frequently known for his charitable acts towards charities and was a strong believer in supporting local businesses first.
Ron unexpectedly passed away in March of 2022 at the age of 64. His great humour, generosity, and personality can never be replaced and will forever be missed by his family, friends, and coworkers. Ron’s visitation and funeral saw hundreds of attendees but will be remembered by so many more.
