Railroaders' Nostalgia > The passing of a CP legend, Jimmy Bede

Last week, James J.Bede of Revelstoke BC passed away at age 77 after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his sister Gizela.

Jimmy was the youngest of three brothers who worked in the running trades, older brothers Zoltan and Alec were locomotive engineers.
His parents immigrated from Hungary after WW2.

Jimmy worked his entire 45 year career as a trainman and conductor in freight service. He never layed off sick in that entire period.
He was single, and after his parents passed on, he lived alone.

He was legendary as a hard worker, and despite the long hours spent riding freight trains, was renown for staying awake and always having a "radio presence" (a loud and distinctive voice on the train radio).

He was a friendly person that bore no ill will toward anyone.

Although he kept many of his sentiments to himself, sometimes on long train journeys , he would engage in the "meaning of life" conversations with a few trusted colleagues, myself included. He was a devout Catholic.

Once during a lengthy layover in Kamloops, he confessed to being bored and frustrated. Carlo, a locomotive engineer suggested that he try out the slot machines at a nearby casino. Jimmy hesitated, but when Carlo offered to show him how they worked and even offered Jimmy $5 in change, he went along. Jimmy was instantly hooked on gambling. Although he spent much time at several casinos, I think he was careful with his money.

Jimmy retired from the railway 12 years ago. Many worried that he would not handle retirement well, but he became an avid gardener, and twice a week became the "ad hoc" tour director on a seniors bus to nearby casinos.

About 18 months ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. He was very dispirited by this discovery, and became very depressed. As a cancer survivor myself, I fully understand his sentiments. However friends and family came to his aid, and recently he decided to live life to its fullest in the time he had left.

A month or so ago, I made a point of visiting him at a casino. There he was, playing three slot machines at once. Physically, he was a shadow of his former self. I knew not to bother him while he was playing the slots, but in time he took a break. He told me of his life and that he had overcome "the bad times". He did mention how serious his cancer was and that he was living on "short time".

I visited him again a couple of weeks later at the casino. A family member warned me that the cancer was getting worse. Again, I waited until Jimmy finished his round of slots. Jimmy said ; "I've had my fun, I'm ready to go". He looked at me and we both knew exactly what he meant.

A week later he passed on.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/14 10:52 by eminence_grise.

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Thank you for sharing this tribute to your RR friend. Sounds like he lived simply and was an incredibly hard worker-- 45 years without a layoff speaks volumes to that!
That generation is sadly passing on very quickly now, and their stories are fading with the passage to time, too. Let's keep telling them here so they're not forgotten.

Thank you for that very kind tribute to your
friend, Jimmy. What a great guy he seemed
to be. And 45 years without needing to take
even one day off sick? wow.....

RIP, jimmy -- may you have all greens forever.

What a hard working gentleman! Thanks for telling his story, and putting his name to his photo. And, as a rail of many years... I have to ask... just how do he do all those years without laying off sick?! That in itself is AMAZING! And, after all that, I'm so glad he was able to enjoy some years, "after the railroad". Guys like him are few, and far between, you were a good friend to him!

Take Care, Stay Safe, Have Fun!

Larry

Jimmy had legendary stamina, and in his prime was physically fit.

Nice tribute.Thank you for posting and remembering a hard working dedicated railroader.Bill Webb

I always lay off ! Haaaa.

I wasn't a TO member at the time of Jimmy's passing but have since resubscribed.  I'd like to share my story of meeting Jimmy. 

In the spring of 2002 I was on my second visit to B.C. and for the first time was exploring the CP mainline east of Kamloops.  I picked an eastbound train to chase to Revelstoke with CP 8509 leading.  I photographed the train in a number of locations along the Shuswap Subdivision that day.  I noticed a little more radio chatter than usual between that train and others enroute but did not think much of it until I arrived in Revelstoke.  I found my way to the CP office / crew change location in town and there found a sea of people trackside.  After parking and walking towards the building I asked someone what was going on that so many people were present.  It was then I learned the conductor on the eastbound was making his retirement trip.  That conductor was Jim Bede. 

The train pulled up to the crew change location and Jimmy came out the front door of the 8509 to a hero's welcome.  After some of the hubbub had died down, I managed to connect with Jimmy and introduce myself as an engineer from the States on vacation.  I don't recall much of our conversation but he seemed like a nice guy. 

I returned to the area in May 2004 and again in March 2006.  In between those two visits I got the idea to have a few enlargements made from the slides I had taken of Jimmy's retirement run.  When I rolled into Revelstoke I went to the railway museum in hopes of being able to track Jimmy down.  Around the same time I arrived the husband of the lady running the museum that day also came in.  He looked vaguely familiar.  It turned out he was the engineer on Jimmy's retirement trip, a fellow named Henry Okumura.  Henry and I remain friends to this day (we just talked on the phone not an hour ago). 

I was given Jimmy's address and set off to locate his house not far away.  I knocked on the door, he answered.  I re-introduced myself and told him I had something for him, handing him a large manila envelope.  Though I don't know what Jimmy did with the photos I had printed and enlarged for him, he seemed tickled pink to get them. 

R.I.P. 

Great story Chessie.   Thank you for sharing.