MOW Mourns Elevator-Escalator Maintainer Michael Leal, 50, of COVID-19

Maintenance of Way is mourning a relatively new Union Brother, Michael Leal. Brother Leal, 50, passed on Monday, February 15 from COVID-19 at the hospital. He will be memorialized in a service set for Saturday, February 27th, at 12 Noon at Saint Frances of Rome Church, 761 East 236th Street, in the Bronx. He had only been on the job for a year and a half, and was part of the effort to rapidly service and install elevators throughout the system to improve accessibility.

Elevator Escalator Maintainer Owen Bryan, who worked with Brother Leal, said "Michael Leal was an honest,  punctual, hard working Brother who always paid attention to detail. From the start of the pandemic, he always had his hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes nearby. If we were going to use a truck to go to a job he would always wipe it down, from the door  handle to the seats. The last time I heard fro him was in the morning when texted me and said he tested positive and was in the hospital. I texted him every day even when I didn't hear from to send him encouragement. He was an outstanding individual and he will be missed.

Another co-worker, Elevator Escalator Maintainer Colin Dennison echoed Bryan's words: "Mr. Leal was an honest and God-fearing man. There aren't enough words to properly describe the true content of his character. He was a true, reliable Brother who has been cheated of life by this disease. I am not easily embittered but this has brought me there. I will truly miss him."

Maurice Walls, Division Vice Chair of Line Equipment/Signals said: "I met Mr. Leal a few times and he was always pleasant and attentive and wanted to learn. I would chide him and say he’s running Dyckman Street because everyone loved him and his work effort was incredible. He will be truly missed as evident of the outpouring support his family is receiving."