Category: Memorial Corner
Former UTU VP Bruce Wigent dies
Bruce Robert Wigent, 73, of Prescott, Wis., died Wednesday, May 25 at United Hospital. A member of Local 1709 in Pontiac, Mich., Wigent hired out as a switchman on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in December 1964. He was first elected as a local officer in 1970 and then serv [...]
SMART TD mourns the loss of Herm Boruta, UTU leader
The following obituary in remembrance of Herman Joseph Boruta II is re-posted from the Stegenga Funeral Chapel website: Herman “Herm” Joseph Boruta II, age 68, died Thursday, April 27, 2017. He died after a short illness with pancreatic cancer. He was a conductor [...]
Local 1704 mourns loss of two members
SMART TD Bus Vice President Calvin Studivant reports that Roshonda McIntosh, 41, died March 16, and Ira Fitzgerald, 53, died March 17. Both members had been ill. McIntosh and Fitzgerald were both members of Local 1704 in Kansas City, Mo., and had been long-time bus operators [...]
Former Alt. Bus Vice President Seymour Kramer dies
Seymour Kramer, 70, retired alternate vice president, bus – west, died January 20, 2017. Kramer began his career as a bus operator for Laidlaw Transit in San Francisco in 1970. As a member of Local 1741, he served as president, vice general chairperson, general chairper [...]Retired Gen. Chairperson William “Butch” Young dies
SMART TD member and former railroad conductor, William “Butch” E. Young III died at the age of 74 on Feb. 15, 2017, in Chino, Calif. Family was his main priority, and Butch was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife Carol; son Mike, daughter-in-l [...]
Retired GC De Genova dies at 67
Richard P. “DG” De Genova, 67, died Tuesday, February 14 surrounded by his family. De Genova hired out with the Youngstown and Southern (Y&S) Railway while attending Youngstown State University (YSU). After receiving his BA in History/Secondary Education in 19 [...]
SMART TD mourns loss of Brother John Hines: African American trailblazer in rail labor & industry
John Henry Hines Jr., 69, died Feb. 4 at a local rehabilitation facility after battling ill health for the past couple of years. Hines hired out as a conductor/brakeman in 1969 with the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (now CSX) at the Hermitage and Brown St. yards in Richmond, V [...]
Memorial services set for John P. Schneider
John P. Schneider, 54, of Spokane Valley, Wash., was hit and killed by a Union Pacific train while working near the Wallula train yard in Walla Walla County, Wash., Jan. 31. Schneider had been a member of Local 1505 in Spokane, Wash., since 2004. He loved to read, was a survi [...]