Donald J. DeVries (1932-2016): Korean War vet never tired of operating train

Feb. 13--Donald J. DeVries, who put in many miles in 40 years as a freight train engineer without leaving metro Toledo, died Tuesday in Hospice of Northwest Ohio, South Detroit Avenue. He was 83.

He had pancreatic cancer, his grandson Michael DeVries said.

Mr. DeVries retired in December, 1994, from CSX Transportation Inc. He was believed to be the last remaining employee of the Toledo Terminal Railroad Co., which had a belt line around the city, through Oregon, Northwood, Walbridge, and Rossford, and crossed the Maumee River twice. The Chessie System took over the Toledo Terminal in 1984.

"It's 28 miles of railroad," Mr. DeVries told The Blade at his retirement. "The tracks circle around Toledo. We called it the longest railroad in the country because it never ran out and had no end.

"We hauled all kinds of freight, coal, steel, cars, grain, whatever," Mr. DeVries also said. "We pulled the full cars to outlying points and rails, to be shipped out on other trains."

Trains stopped running on parts of the belt line more than 15 years ago. Since then, rails have been pulled up and some of the former right-of-way turned into a walking and cycling trail.

Mr. DeVries didn't tire of driving what was an endless loop.

"He had a different story every day," said his grandson, who recalled childhood summer vacations riding with Mr. DeVries. With the Toledo Terminal tracks just 10 feet from the DeVries' West Toledo backyard, Mr. DeVries stopped the train, and little Michael jumped on.

"It was amazing," his grandson said. "I was with my best friend and hero. I was untouchable. It was the best feeling in the world."

After he retired, Mr. DeVries would go to the backyard and wave at the passing railroaders, when trains still came through regularly. He collected train paraphernalia -- lights, model trains, toy trains, books, videos -- and helped round up fellow CSX retirees for get-togethers.

"He would reach out and say, 'We're going to meet for coffee or breakfast,'" said state Rep. Michael Sheehy (D., Oregon), a retired CSX freight conductor. "He was a gregarious guy."

Mr. DeVries was dependable and professional on the job, and when conductors received assignments, "if you got Don as engineer, you looked forward to going to work every day," Mr. Sheehy said.

He was born Aug. 10, 1932, to Esther and Jacob DeVries. He grew up in North Toledo and attended Woodward High School.

He was an Army veteran of the Korean War, serving as a medic. He spoke little of his wartime duty for more than a decade after his return, but shared readily with his grandson -- how U.S. soldiers "tried to befriend the children and the women and the innocents over there," his grandson said. "It was mainly a lot of destruction. He told me stories where his fellow Army men had been hit, and he had to carry them to safety and treat them."

Mr. DeVries was a member of VFW Post 606. He also had been a member and officer of Eagles' Aerie 197 in West Toledo.

He and his wife, Sharon, married May 5, 1956. She died March 5, 2015.

Surviving are his daughters Julie DeVries and Lori LeVally; three grandchildren, and five grandchildren.

Services will be at 10 a.m. today in the H.H. Birkenkamp Funeral Home on Tremainsville Road. The family suggests tributes to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.

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