It is with great
sadness that we announce the passing of one of our key members,
and good friend, Michael R. Light. As mentioned in the past two
Gazettes, Mike had been diagnosed with bonemarrow cancer, and
had made several trips to William Beaumont Hospital where he received
chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and other treatments to try
to fight off this thing. Mike finally got so weak that his system
just gave up, and he passed away, Monday, November 29, 1999.
Two days of visitation were held at the Hopcroft Funeral
Home in Madison Heights, in which many M.T.M. members came to
pay their respects. Karl Joost came to my house and borrowed a
bunch of pictures that Vern Gomez and I had taken that had Mike
in them, doing various M.T.M. activities - and created a poster-sized
collage for the visitation. You will probably see it in the next
Gazette. On another photo board made by Mike's family, someone
had written, "No more pain-Mike play with your train set".
I guess they really knew where his interests were ....
Mike was born, September 7, 1965, in Detroit, and spent most
of his life in or near the Detroit area. He married Lorraine,
who is the Head Nurse on one of the floors at Wm. Beaumont Hospital,
and they lived in Auburn Hills. Mike, and his father, were basic
railfans, and chased the trains just like the rest of us. He had
a small HO layout, which he would work on when he had the time.
Mike Light joined the Michigan Transit Museum in June, 1988,
and immediately applied tender, loving care to our Alco S-l, #1807.
As the years passed, Mike started turning his attention to track
maintenance, even taking several home correspondence courses which
dealt with the repair of track, switches, etc. He supervised the
removal of the track and switches from the east side of the Base,
when it became necessary to vacate that area. Mike helped take
the "kink" out of Perimeter Curve, and his last main
project was to adjust the switches (turnouts) on the west side
of the Base.
During this time at M.T.M., Mike worked for two railroads.
He worked briefly as a brakeman for the Grand Trunk Western (that
period of changeover from GTW back to Canadian National). his
last employer was the Norfolk Southern RR., where he hired in
as an engine hostler (a person who can connect or disconnect
diesel-electric locomotives, fuel them, do repair work on them,
and move them around in a designated mechanical area or limits).
In the spring of 1998, Mike
helped with the removal of the old track in the Range Road crossing,
prior to the contractor resurfacing the road. He then helped prepare
for the reinstallation of the crossing. At this point in time,
the NS sent Mike down to Atlanta, Georgia, for several months
of intensive training on the handling and maintenance of diesel-electric
locomotives.
Mike came back from Georgia in the fall of 1998, bubbling
over with all this good stuff he had learned (maybe "bubbling"
is overdoing it, as Mike was always a very laid-back kind of guy).
I know he enjoyed his job, and would work on M.T.M. projects whenever
he could. Unfortunately, all too soon, this other nastiness appeared
in the summer of 1999, and it was a downhill battle from there.
Mike was a quiet sort who would come out to the Base unannounced,
and the only way you could tell he had been there was to see something
that he had done. He worked with anyone who would help, and was
always open to input from the other members. He served on the
Board of Directors briefly in 1997, and was well-liked by all
of our active members. Mike will be VERY MUCH MISSED by his M.T.M.
"family". Our sincere sympathy goes out to Lorraine,
and the rest of Michael R. Light's family. Like the remark next
to the photo, "No more pain, Mike". ......... DF