Joseph W. Lynch

Joe Lynch The West Island family lost long-time member Joe Lynch on September 6th after a brief illness. Joe was 78 years old. Joe was born on March 11, 1947 and spent his youth growing up in Howard Beach, Queens. He is survived by his wife Delores (AKA Dee), daughters Angela and Kellie, and son Dane as well as thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Joe joined the West Island in February 2005. He made his living as a Locomotive Engineer on the Long Island Rail Road and retired in May 2004 after a 30-year career “on the handles.” Joe frequented the club a couple of times per week where he enjoyed running his Southern Pacific trains at MAS…that’s Maximum Authorized Speed in train-speak. There’s no doubt that Joe was a speed merchant at the club. He got ribbed for it regularly, but had duck feathers for it. His reputation at the big railroad was that of a safe, conscientious engineer who took his job seriously and, when the circumstances were right, didn’t mind making a little jack. Joe worked for me at Morris Park on many occasions as a Change Engineer (CE). A CE was a one-man crew used to deliver and retrieve locomotives across the railroad to replace defective units or those scheduled for maintenance. CEs also delivered and retrieved locomotives from Richmond Hill Storage Yard and Long Island City Passenger Yard as a regular course of business. Joe was reliable. He always gave me good moves and didn’t dilly dally especially when he knew we were having problems keeping up with scheduled departures. However, if I got jammed up and needed to change his service status to Hostler at the last minute, he didn’t mind the extra day of pay one bit. That’s what generous collective bargaining agreements are for and why employees pay union dues. ;o) Joe assisting at an Open House several years ago. At the club, Joe was a calming influence. His “I ain’t mad at no one” attitude was infectious and one that I appreciated. I enjoyed his company and really enjoyed it when he was in a mood to spin yarns about his experiences on the railroad. For a number of years he wrote a column for Run 8 titled From the Right Side of the Cab. Joe was elected Vice President of the club in 201X and served in that capacity until shortly before his death. He would take attendance at monthly Business Meetings and his creative pronunciation of the names of some of our members always caused smirks and catcalls. As I said earlier, Joe had duck feathers and wasn’t the least bit bothered. Joe mentored Ben Lederer, one of our members who works as a recently qualified Locomotive Engineer on the New York & Atlantic Railroad, the contract freight operator for Long Island. I think Joe was proud of Ben’s career choice. There is a bond among railroaders and particularly along craft lines. I think he would be pleased to know that Ben was recently certified for engine service. Joe poses for the camera at the Open House on 11/29/24 with Al Kaiser and Jimmy Sztabnik. Joe loved riding his motorcycle. He didn’t start riding until his mid-40s, starting off on a Honda, but soon decided he wanted a real hog. He bought himself a Harley-Davidson Road King that became his ride of choice thereafter. He would occasionally show up at the club during good weather months riding his “scooter.” He made the voyage to Sturgis, South Dakota in August following his retirement. Sturgis is the site of an annual gathering of Harley-Davidson riders that is like Mecca for bikers. Joe served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War as a Sergeant in the United States Air Force. He was a member of the American Legion Rider Chapter in Sayville for over ten years until his death. His friend Eddie Blum, a retired LIRR Conductor, encouraged him to join. Joe turned out to be an enthusiastic member and was an American Legion Rider. His Commander, Joe Burns, told me that Joe was extremely proud of being an American Legion Rider and never missed an opportunity to represent the Legion, riding in local parades and other events and wore the vest often. His Legion nickname was “Bear.” His grandchildren hung that moniker on him many years ago. His email name was Bearclaw. He had a bear claw painted on the gas tank of his bike that included the names of each of his grandchildren. Joe was a devoted family man, to say the least. His marriage to Dee was the second for both of them and their do-over was “the one.” They were true soulmates. At Joe’s wake, I ran into Anthony Ciminello, one of Joe’s nearest and dearest friends. Anthony’s Father Joe had also been a close friend of Joe Lynch and also worked for me at Morris Park back in the day along with Joe L. Joe C passed away in 1994. The two Joes, Gary Muckian, and Anthony shared a hunting cabin in the Catskills and made time to be up there for hunting season every year along with other antics. I used to tell Joe “This sounds like a really good time for me to avoid the Catskills.” I ran into Gary Muckian at Joe’s wake. Gary also worked for me as a Pipefitter in Morris Park. We hadn’t seen one another in 34 years and swapped some “Joe stories.” Anthony was a true friend and very attentive toward Joe and shepherded him back and forth to his doctors. Anthony regaled me with some great “Joe stories.” Joe’s wake was a celebration of his life, as it should have been. Joe Lynch touched the lives of all those around him and will be missed by all. He was a mensch. Heaven has a new angel…on the back of a Harley!

In Lieu of flowers family would like donations to https://nycancerfoundation.org/