CLEVELAND, October 26 — Two BLET families have recently endured unimaginable loss, and their respective Divisions have established memorial funds to help the families through these difficult times.
Brother Josh R. Kyles, a member of BLET Division 144 (Amtrak) in Sacramento, Calif., died unexpectedly in his sleep on October 10, 2009. He was 35 years old.
Brother Kyles is survived by his widow, Kimberly, and their two young children, Joshua (5) and Amanda (4).
Brother Kyles was hired by Amtrak in the fall of 1998 as a Conductor and was promoted to engineer in November 2000, when he joined the BLET. Brother Kyles is also survived by two railroaders in his family: his father Noel Kyles, a former UTU Local Chairman, of Reno, and his uncle, Don Johnson, former Local Chairman of UTU Local 1732z (Amtrak-Oakland).
Division 144 is accepting donations on behalf of the Kyles family. Donations may be payable to “BLET Div. 144”, and sent to Kyles Family Fund, c/o BLET Div. 144, P.O. Box 24594, Oakland, Calif., 94623. Or contact Mike Poirier, Secretary-Treasurer at bletdiv144s-t@lospadres.info.
The wife of Brother Steven R. Booth, Gabriela Booth, recently passed away after a long a difficult battle with cancer. She was just 32 years old. Brother Booth, 38 years old, is a member of BLET Division 692 in Tracy, Calif. The couple had two young children, ages 2 and 3.
The Brothers and Sisters of Division 692 have established the Gabriela Booth Memorial Fund to help Brother Booth pay for child care. He works full-time as a locomotive engineer for the Union Pacific.
Donations can be made payable to the Gabriela Booth memorial Fund and submitted to the Western Valley Federal Credit Union. Members can also make donations directly to Mike Conner, Secretary-Treasurer, (916) 315-8912, 3773 Antelope Way, Rocklin, CA 95677. For more information, contact Local Chairman Brian Carr at: bcarr92@comcast.net.