Breck Speed, a former executive with both ABF Freight and USA Truck, died at his Fort Smith home on Christmas Eve. He was 81.
A visitation with his family will be held Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, and a memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 215 N. Sixth St. in Fort Smith.
James Breckinridge Speed was born in Iowa but raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was licensed as a pilot at age 17. He attended the Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey, and earned a scholarship to Yale University.
He married Marilyn June Young in 1956 and two years later went to work for her father, R.A. Young, at Arkansas Best Freight System in Fort Smith. He spent more than 20 years with ABF, ultimately as president of ABF Systems.
After his wife died in 1978, Speed left ABF and spent several years in the oil and gas business. In 1989, he was part of an investment group that bought USA Truck of Van Buren and took it public in 1992. He served as chairman of USA Truck form 1989 to 2000 and was on its board of directors until 2012.
Speed also served as vice president at large of the American Trucking Associations and on its executive committee.
A full obituary is available on the website of Edwards Funeral Home in Fort Smith.
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