Category: Condolences
May 10, 2018 – From Carol McCracken Keating, daughter of Bob and Jackie McCracken. As the mist was rising on the fields around the hospice house and the light was peaking through the morning sky Mom’s spirit took flight and joined the choir of angels. She is at peace. We are heartbroken, but know that she is safe at home with God. We cling to the promises of our faith and to each other knowing that in both life and death God is faithful always.
The family will hold a memorial service for Jackie in Leesburg, Fla and hey will also be scheduling a memorial event here in Madisonville some time in early June. More details as they come.
go out to Ricky Bivins and his family upon the passing of his mother Rose Marie Bivins, on October 31. Any donations may be made to the Richland Missionary Baptist Church Building fund.
I was catching up on my railfan surfing tonight and ran across a post on the P&L forum that indicated that Dennis Carnal had passed away. I quickly pulled up the West KY NRHS website and saw the information about his death in the newsletters.
I first met Dennis though my quest to complete my collection of L&N Employee magazines. He had posted that he had some for sale and I contacted him and found out that he had several that I needed and I had extras that he needed so we arranged a trade. Dennis and I arranged to meet at his house on one of my visits to Henderson and traded magazines, traded stories, and discussed the Cardinals vs the Reds.
My primary RR interest is in the tunnels [I’ll spare you the long story why] and Dennis and I hooked up on a couple of different trips over the next couple of years to explore tunnels and sites. I had permission from the owner of the land where the original tunnel west of Dawson Springs is located to hike in and check it out and Dennis went with me. On another trip, he hooked me up with one of his friends from Greenville who knew about the buried tunnel on the original O & N alignment near Cleaton. That day we also checked out the daylighted IC tunnel sites on the P&L at Echols, Rosine, Black Rock, and near Stephensburg-that was a fun day.
Enough rambling, I just thought I’d express my condolences to your group on his loss. He was very gracious to me and willing to share any information that he could. He also kept trying to get me to come to one of your meetings, but I was never down on a Monday that you were meeting.
Sincerely,
Butch Adkins, Lexington KY
At the young age of 48, Jim Findley lost his battle with cancer this month. Also please remember Tony Clark’s family. His wife Mary, passed away Friday, October 21.
Editorial by Bill Thomas
Some say if you have three good friends in your life, you’re a lucky man. I must say that my luck has been abundant. When my family and I moved to Madisonville just a bit over eight years ago, we went through the normal new-in-town steps of finding a physician, dentist, hair dresser, barber, and other necessary people for living. I make friends pretty quickly, guess it comes with the territory of ministry. Not long after our arrival, someone at church told me, “You need to meet Don Clayton and that bunch of guys in the train club.” You see, I included my fascination of trains in my bio that went out to my church – why not?
That was the beginning of what is still a wonderful relationship I have with those of you in our chapter. Outside the chapter meetings we gathered at the Clayton home and while Wally smoked up the basement with lamp oil, several of us sat around the table, on the fireplace hearth, and floor to ramble about railroading, women, taxes, and several other topics. Dennis Carnal was always in the seat on the north side of the room or at least it seemed that way. With his bowl of peanut M&Ms he’d munch away, sharing his colorful treats with me and Liam, who was then only 4 or 5.
Liam is now 12! He and I were both fortunate enough to see Dennis at our house the Saturday before he passed. He had a way of popping in and carrying on a conversation with you while you continued to whatever odd job you may be in the middle of. This was the case on that Saturday afternoon. I’m in the pool (74 degree water) painting the deck and Dennis is sitting at the patio table. We talked about everything under the sun.
That was the beauty of my friendship with Dennis. We could talk about anything, while doing anything, and enjoy it. Dennis could appear a little rough around the edges at times, but he had a soft spot for my kids. A few Christmases ago he dropped by with a nice stuffed Santa for them and even that Saturday around the pool, he gave Joe a dollar because the cheap-o tooth fairy only left him a quarter the night before.
I admired the way he cared for his mother in her last days. I was privileged to officiate the grave-side burial service for her. I know Dennis had a love for his dogs. Not so much for cats, but deep down I think he took to mine ok.
As Ricky as already stated in his column, Dennis had a remarkable gift for recalling railroad information, especially when it came to locomotives on the L&N.
He always told me I wasn’t a normal minister and I usually questioned him about that statement. As I grew to know and love Dennis as a friend, I guess I figured I kind of knew what he meant in a positive way. I look forward to seeing him again some day and if your theology allows you to believe that, I’m glad. Feel free to join us!
If I can find a free Thursday evening in the near future, I’d like to have Dennis’ friends over to the back yard just to give the Old Goat a roast in memoriam. I’ll be in touch. I think it would do us all good.
Greetings all. It is with sadness that I pass word to you that Dennis J. Carnal passed away last night (Monday, September 12) around midnight, at Regional Medical Center, from what appears to have been an embolism brought on by unknown circumstances. Dennis had been suffering from occasional seizures for a couple of weeks. Keith Kittinger and I carried him home from my house Saturday. He saw a Dr. at Multicare Monday, suffered another seizure while there, was admitted to RMC, then died that evening.
His cousin Peggy, Keith and I met with Reid Walters funeral home this morning. Dennis will be cremated and buried in the Earlington Cemetery alongside his mother and father.
At Dennis’ request there will be no public service of remembrance. I suggest as a chapter we collect a donation for one of Dennis’ passions. Disaster Relief/Emergency Management or American Red Cross Disaster relief. I’ll not make the next meeting due to a conflict at the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts.
I’d like to host a Thursday night get-together sometime soon at the house, build a roaring campfire (Dennis hated the fire pit) and roast some hotdogs while we give a memory roasting to the Old Goat!
Take care guys! – Bill Thomas
By Steve Barry, Railfan & Railroad
The hobby industry lost a true giant yesterday with the passing of Hal Carstens. Hal joined the staff of Railroad Model Craftsman in 1952, became editor in 1954 and president of the company in 1962.
Hal served as president of various organizations, including Hobbies Industries of America, the Model Railroad Industry Association, Friends of the New Jersey Railroad & Transportation Museum and the Train Collectors Association. He also served in various capacities with the Photographic Society of America, Hobby Industry Association and the Wagner College Board of Trustees.
It was his leadership of Carstens Publications where he will be missed the most. The business has always been more of a family, and Hal was our patriarch. I wouldn’t be able to thank him enough for the opportunities he has given me in the publishing business.
To say we’re going to miss Hal is obvious. But while we’ll miss him as our leader and boss, and miss him as one of the hobby industry’s premier promoters, we’ll miss him most as a friend. -submitted by Chuck Hinrichs
Members of the West Kentucky Chapter of the NRHS wish to express their condolences, prayers, and other thoughts to chapter member and friends, Gary Miller and his wife Cindy, on the death of their son Scott Allan Miller. Scott passed away unexpectedly June 22, 2009, in Puyallup, WA. He was born July 7, 1978 in Arlington Heights, Ill. Internment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Seattle.