Friday, July 7, 2023
I first me Joe in January of 1983 when I had just taken the position of Chief Mechanical Officer at NJ Transit and Joe moved over from Conrail and was running our largest shop. In our first meeting I told him that I wasn't sure who I was keeping in management from the old regime, some of whom I didn't trust. Joe was calm and smiling and looking at me incredulously saying that I didn't even know him. I promised that we would get to know one another before either of us made any decisions about him staying on.
Just a few weeks later, due to unforeseen circumstances, Joe accompanied me to New Orleans on a business trip and we got to know one another much better. I realized on that trip that what you saw with Joe was what you got. The more I was around him, the more I liked and trusted him. His smirk that he would wear in meetings and during discussions was just his enjoyment of the dialogue and the challenges we knew that we faced together in a new railroad. I came to know that I could count on Joe to always tell me what he was thinking even if it wasn't necessarily good news. We had a similar sense of humor and always tried to make the job fun for everyone by playing practical jokes on those on the management team and on one another.
It wasn't even months later that I promoted him to Assistant Chief Mechanical Officer and he and I worked from then on as close as two people could. He was my top person and my go to guy for counsel and I was his. His performance was exemplary and his friendship and loyalty superb. Five years later I departed NJT and knew I wouldn't miss the job at all, but the people were a different story. And, of all the people I knew I would miss the most, it would be Joe. Over that period we had become like brothers and I loved him as though we were.
Good fortune struck some decades later when I began to work with Joe while he was at EMD. In a strange twist of events, I ended up working for Progress Rail (Caterpillar) and became part of the acquisition team that acquired EMD. I quickly picked up Joe in my group and it was great to be with him again and almost like years hadn't passed. I put him in charge of the most important project I had at the time because I knew he was the only person out of hundreds that I knew would knock down any and all obstacles to be successful. So far as I know, the project was, and to this day, the most successful we ever had. The locomotives were completed on time, under budget and the customer remained delighted for years to come. Joe and his entire team won the Caterpillar Chairman's Sustainability Award for that project.
When I lost touch with Joe after he got sick, I felt as if I had a significant personal component of my life missing. When I heard of his passing, to say it was a shock would be a gross understatement. Over the years Joe and I had become like brothers and were able to express our love for each other openly as it should be.
In summary, Joe was the hardest working, most well-intentioned, genuine person and perhaps the finest friend I have ever had. And if I were to write a book about my life, he would be a long chapter. I am somewhat embarrassed about the length of this tribute but I simply can't find enough to say for someone who so deserved to live longer and enjoy enjoy his wonderful loving family for years to come.
My sincerest condolences for all of us who loved him, and especially to his family that he loved so much and were always first in his life. A great man has passed.
