In Memoriam: Phil Stepek

It is with great sadness that we must report the death of Phil Stepek, who died yesterday after a long battle with cancer.  He will be sorely missed.  Phil was always friendly and helpful, and often seemed to be many places at once, supplying water, coffee, or snacks, keeping the first-aid kits in order, decorating, and so on.  His main focus, of course, was the train of silver cars on which he expended a great deal of energy over the years, and supervised the efforts to restore and operate them, and also keeping them open for visitors when on display in Yard 5.  He was a great asset to the Museum, and his death is a great loss for everyone.

The family has apparently decided that there will be no visitation or funeral at this time.  There may be a memorial remembrance later in the spring.  In the meantime, there is a sympathy card in the woodshop.  Please sign it if you're out at the Museum this weekend.

Update: Phil was not a publicity seeker and generally seems to have avoided cameras.  This is the only usable picture of him we've found so far, taken by Shelley Vanderschagen.