Ray J. Ste. Marie

BLE member Ray J. Ste. Marie, 48 years old at the time of his death, was killed while deadheading from Houston to the Union Pacific terminal in Alexandria, La. As the van he was traveling in slowed down for a highway construction zone on Interstate 10, just east of Lake Charles, La., it was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. The van was shoved into the rear of another 18-wheeler, killing Brother Ste. Marie, the van driver, and a conductor, M. Deramus, 48. Brother Ste. Marie was a Union Pacific locomotive engineer and a member of BLE Division 366 in Houston, Texas. He joined the BLE on Sept. 1, 1980, as an engineer for the former Southern Pacific Railroad. He was Chaplain of Division 366 from 1997-2000.