SAVANNAH, Ga. — Don Varnadoe spent months watching movies about practice journeys on his workplace pc in preparation for a particular cross-country trip to have a good time his and Margie Varnadoe’s fiftieth wedding ceremony anniversary.
He phoned his co-workers in coastal Georgia, the place he bought actual property for many years, from the primary leg of their journey Friday to allow them to comprehend it was turning right into a dream trip.
“He had referred to as the workplace and mentioned how excited they have been,” mentioned Robert Kozlowski, managing dealer at Coldwell Banker Entry Realty within the port metropolis of Brunswick. “They have been in Washington, D.C., and headed west.”
A day later, the couple died when an Amtrak practice they have been on derailed in rural Montana.
They have been amongst three individuals who died together with a 29-year-old Illinois man named Zachariah Schneider, in response to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Workplace in Montana. Schneider was a software program developer and large Packers fan. He was touring to Oregon along with his spouse, who survived.
The Amtrak practice was going just below the velocity restrict at about 75 mph when it went off the monitor alongside a gradual curve, probably ejecting passengers, U.S. investigators mentioned Monday. The Amtrak Empire Builder that was en route from Chicago to Seattle crashed Saturday afternoon close to Joplin, a city of about 200 close to the Canadian border. The practice, carrying 141 passengers and 16 crew members, had two locomotives and 10 automobiles, eight of which derailed, with some tipping onto their sides. Residents within the farm neighborhood mobilized that day to assist injured passengers.
Investigators have no idea the reason for the derailment, however they’re learning video from the practice and one other locomotive that went over the identical monitor a little bit over an hour earlier, Nationwide Transportation Security Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg mentioned Monday. The derailed practice additionally had a black field that information every thing taking place within the practice, he mentioned. One risk is an issue with the tracks, maybe from heat-induced buckling, railroad crash specialists speculate.
Kozlowski was arriving at church Sunday in Georgia when he received a textual content message alerting him of a rumor circulating {that a} tragedy had befallen the Varnadoes. A telephone name to a member of the family confirmed the horrible information that the couple had been killed within the derailment.
Everyone on the workplace knew in regards to the massive journey and have been excited for the couple. One co-worker joked that Don Varnadoe, 74, may need to go away Margie Varnadoe, 72, at dwelling when he struggled along with his pc to print out her ticket.
“He mentioned, ‘That is our journey of a lifetime and we’re so trying ahead to it,’” recalled Kozlowski, his boss of 18 years.
The Varnadoes had lived 45 years on St. Simons Island, dwelling to about 15,000 individuals simply over an hour’s drive south of Savannah. Kozlowski mentioned Don Varnadoe cherished to inform the story of how the shifting truck arrived on July 4, 1976 — the two hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Margie Varnadoe was retired from the Glynn County public faculty system, the place she had lengthy labored as a trainer and an administrator. Her husband bought actual property for greater than 4 many years, and confirmed no signal of slowing down.
Kozlowski mentioned Don Varnadoe labored day-after-day and infrequently led the gross sales employees in prayer earlier than conferences. His spouse was beloved on the workplace, the place she typically introduced flowers, brownies and different items. She dropped off one final pan of brownies simply earlier than leaving on their anniversary journey.
“In order for you an instance of how you can deal with individuals, Don and Margie have been them,” Kozlowski mentioned. “With their religion and the way in which they handled individuals, they’re in a very good place, I feel.”
