Category: Memorial Corner
Local 168 mourns passing of Chairperson Garcia
Jose F. “Joey” Garcia, local chairperson of Local 168 (Chicago, Ill.), passed away suddenly in December at his home in Chicago. Brother Garcia, 46, actively participated in our union since his railroad career began in 2005. An Amtrak conductor, Brother Garcia served as a legi [...]SMART-TD Local 206 mourns sudden loss of member
Switchman Thomas A. Wall, 22, of Local 206 (Peru, Ind.) died suddenly on Oct. 19 after experiencing a flare-up of an autoimmune liver disease while at work. His family said that he was responding well to treatment and was looking forward to returning to work after undergoing [...]
Local 556 loses member to alleged drunken driver
SMART Local 556 (Tacoma, Wash.) recognized a moment of silence for their fallen brother this week. BNSF Brakeman William “Bill” Laver, 51, of Grapeview, Wash., had his life of dedicated service cut short Friday, Sept. 16 by an alleged drunken driver while he was o [...]
Local 1846 loses member in accident, fundraiser established
Local 1846 in West Colton, Calif., tragically lost a brother on Sept. 8, and a fundraiser has been established to help his family in this inexplicably difficult time. Conductor Zachery “Zach” Lara, 25, and his engineer Steven Brown were in helper service assistin [...]Ann Simon, wife of TD Alt. VP Anthony Simon, passes away
Services have been arranged for Ann Simon, the wife of Transportation Division Alt. Vice President/General Chairperson Anthony Simon, who has passed away. Visitation will be 3 to 5 and 7 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, at Frederick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home, 20 Hi [...]TD Local 18 member killed in derailment
Mario Navarro, 49, a SMART-TD member out of Local 18 (El Paso, Texas), died late Aug. 29 after a pair of rail cars derailed in an accident in Union Pacific’s Alfalfa Rail Yard during a shoving movement. An online fundraiser has been established to help his family throug [...]TD Local 446 mourns loss of member who died while on the job
SMART-TD Local 446 (Cheyenne, Wyo.) mourns the loss of Ryan Jones, 33, who died of a cardiac event while on the job July 28. A conductor and local trustee (2018 – 2020), Jones loved working for Union Pacific. According to his obituary, “Ryan was determined to follow his life [...]Local 1420 mourns death of Local Chairperson Kevin Spragg
Robert Kevin Spragg, 59, passed away Monday, June 20, 2022. An active member of Local 1420 (Memphis, Tenn.) since August 1998, Spragg served as the local chairperson for LCA-001A (BNSF) since 2012 and as a delegate at the 2014 and 2019 conventions. He was a dedicated union ma [...]