Edward P. Mcgee, 66, Railroad Engineer

January 19, 1999|By Diane Struzzi, Tribune Staff Writer.

Edward P. McGee Sr. began his 47-year career with the railroad shoveling coal in the old steam engines. The work was hard, but the pay was solid.

Ultimately, he became a locomotive engineer on Metra's Rock Island line.

"He said it was the best job in the world because every little kid loved the engineer," said Mr. McGee's wife, Josephine L. McGee. "On top of all that, he'd say, `I get to blow the horn.' "

Mr. McGee, 66, a former longtime resident of Blue Island, died Saturday in his Orland Park home.

In 1997, he retired from Metra shortly after a stroke prevented him from running the engines. He left behind a career that included ranking positions with the locomotive union.

He was a former president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Division 815, and he served as the division's legislative representative to the International Locomotive Engineers Union.

But the railroad was only one part of his life. In the late 1940s, Mr. McGee competed in a national diving competition, narrowly missing a chance to represent the United States at the Olympics.

For about 50 years, he played handball and competed nationally in the sport. Later, he became a handball instructor at the YMCA.

"Sports was his way of relieving stress," said his son David E. McGee.

Mr. McGee never took himself too seriously, always willing to crack a joke that could ease a tense situation. He was a loyal friend who went out of his way for others, family members said.

"He was a forever friend," Josephine McGee said. "He was a very loving man who would do everything and anything to help you, and not count the cost to himself."

Besides his wife and son, Mr. McGee is survived by another son, Edward P. McGee Jr.; a sister, Mildred Marlatt; and three grandchildren.

Visitation is between 2 and 9 p.m. Wednesday at Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home, 530 W. 14th St., Chicago Heights. A funeral mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1501 Chicago Rd., Chicago Heights.