Guest Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 In case anyone hasant heard yet, this past weekend we lost a true busfan and dear friend to a lot of us here. Our fellow ChicagoBus.org member, busfan and friend, former CTA bus operator Vince Dawson aka "Wolfman" passed away last Friday apparently of a heart attack. Lets all remember him, our deepest condolences to his family and friends. I think we all enjoyed learning all about his history, his experiences in transit and sharing them with his fellow busfans here. Vince, you will certainly be missed! R.I.P.! We lost a true CTA legend! Youre up there with another great transit pro, George Krambles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 In case anyone hasant heard yet, this past weekend we lost a true busfan and dear friend to a lot of us here. Our fellow ChicagoBus.org member, busfan and friend, former CTA bus operator Vince Dawson aka "Wolfman" passed away last Friday apparently of a heart attack. Lets all remember him, our deepest condolences to his family and friends. I think we all enjoyed learning all about his history, his experiences in transit and sharing them with his fellow busfans here. Vince, you will be missed! R.I.P.! That is too bad. He did correspond with me directly, and was very knowledgeable about the CTA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 For a long while, I was looking for an old CTA North Ave Garage bus roll sign. He had contacted me about a month ago that he had one that to sell me. Such a nice guy! He will be missed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strategicplanning Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Vince Dawson passed away on Friday August 26, 2011 late in the evening of a massive heart attack. Here is an email his wife Carol has shared with us. I am Carol Dawson of Albuquerque, New Mexico and am very sorry to be sending this news about Vince Dawson, my husband of twenty years. Also very sorry that this is not a one on one personal email or a phone call. I know who some of you are and know nothing about many others but I felt that if you were important enough to Vince to be in his email address book that you deserved to be contacted.Vince had a massive heart attack last night and died (Friday August 26th) atage 52. He has had problems with high blood pressure and diabetes formany years but this was totally unexpected. Since his many friends arescattered throughout the country and there are so many of you that I do notknow, there will be no funeral or memorial service. I am his only familyhere and his only other relatives are an Aunt and Uncle in California. They are both up in years and could not travel at this time to Albuquerque andI have been disabled for many years and have recently gone through some verysevere treatments for cancer and nearly died myself. These are the reasonsthe decision was made for no services. Please take a few moments toremember Vince fondly and celebrate the impact he made on your life in your ownway. I was lucky enough to marry my best friend twenty years ago and Iknow his sudden passing will affect many of us dearly. If you want to reach me personally, myemail is caroldawson@juno.com I would love to hear from you and how you've known Vince if you'd like to takea moment and contact me. I would also appreciate copies of anyspecial photos you may have of him and you together. CarolDawson Vince was a great friend, humanitarian to the world, he was aswe all know a mass transit and urban aficionado Vince was a friend to all, heaven just go a little nicer with Vince's arrival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 R.I.P Wolfman I didn't know you(except in a few posts on here), maybe you were a Bus Operator on one of the Lincoln Ave. buses I rode back around the turning of the millenium. I think I echo the thoughts of the other chicagobus.org members on here when I say we will miss you, Wolfman.RTS_Wolfman.bmp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted August 30, 2011 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 I did not know Vince was the Wolfman. Had I realized it, I may have tried to contact him regarding old stuff. I saw a post by another member on Facebook noting that he had passed. I have seen a few things which mentioned him by name, but did not realize he was part of "our group". It appears that Vince had a lot of friends, I only wish that I could have got to know him. He sounds like he was a really great guy to know. Rest In Peace, Vince, I am sure you will be greatly missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Oh wow. I'm so sorry to hear of his passing. I liked how his posts gave a historical insight on transit in the area and of the CTA in particular. I always managed to learn something new from what he shared or at least gained a different perspective to things he shared that I may have already known. He contributed some good things to the group because they came from an operator's point of view. I'll say in his honor that the rest of the operators who are members contribute a great deal here also because you guys have that inside view of what goes on in Chicago area transit whether it be CTA, Pace or Metra even in those moments when we all don't always agree. Like other more public oriented employees sometimes you're many times underappreciated because not only are you dealing with the grueling nature of Chicago traffic at all times of the year but you're doing so while dealing with sometimes rude and obnoxious personalities, careless drivers in other vehicles or careless pedestrians, sometimes violent passengers, passengers who would would get on if you had an express run when the person should have boarded a local bus (in the days of the 'X' express routes) along with other challenges at a time when funding for your respective transit agencies is still shaky and having to wonder if you or a coworker may face a layoff as part of reducing budgets and bringing them in balance after facing that issue only just last year. And through it all you guys still report to work and get us where we need to go. Hats off to Wolfman and hats off to the rest of you along with a thank you for the dedication to both the city and burbs in helping to keep them moving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRCTA Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 That Wolfman was one the best! A great man and very knowledgeable about the Chicago Transit Authority! I met him thru this post when I wrote him some comments and a few messages! May he forever rest in peace! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 That Wolfman was one the best! A great man and very knowledgeable about the Chicago Transit Authority! I met him thru this post when I wrote him some comments and a few messages! May he forever rest in peace! He was one of CTAs finest! I enjoyed reading his historical insight on CTA buses and trains, here and on Facebook. He possessed the knowledge and he had a passion for it just like many of us do here. He always made the subject interesting and informative. I for one will miss reading his opinions and historical insights. Vince, you will be missed by all of us here. I know your fellow busfans/friends here will certainly do everything to keep your spirit alive. To Carol, youre among friends, all of us here who were fortunate to be a part of mass transit or just a fan of it, the ones who keep the passion alive, whether you knew Vince or not, he was one of CTAs finest and he will never be forgotten. Were always here for you Carol! R.I.P. Vince! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 I don't know if anybody here visited the late Wolfman's website, but I found a little humorous joke on there I'd thought I'd share here, in his honor... Once there was an bus mechanic who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later his company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having, with one of their multi-million dollar hybrid machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the bus fixed, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired bus mechanic, who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The old timer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he marked a small x in chalk, on a particular component of the machine and proudly stated, "This is where your problem is." The part was replaced, and the bus worked perfectly again and returned to service. The company received a bill for $50,000 from the old timer, for his services. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges. Pops responded briefly: One chalk mark $1.00 Knowing where to put it $49,999.00 It was paid in full and the mechanic retired in peace. To the late Wolfman.... a great, knowledgeable CTA Expert!!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 25, 2011 Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 I don't know if anybody here visited the late Wolfman's website, but I found a little humorous joke on there I'd thought I'd share here, in his honor... Once there was an bus mechanic who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later his company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having, with one of their multi-million dollar hybrid machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the bus fixed, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired bus mechanic, who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The old timer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he marked a small x in chalk, on a particular component of the machine and proudly stated, "This is where your problem is." The part was replaced, and the bus worked perfectly again and returned to service. The company received a bill for $50,000 from the old timer, for his services. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges. Pops responded briefly: One chalk mark $1.00 Knowing where to put it $49,999.00 It was paid in full and the mechanic retired in peace. To the late Wolfman.... a great, knowledgeable CTA Expert!!! I was fortunate to fly out to Albuquerque, NM last week and meet Vince's wife, Carol. She was very pleasant with me, very kind, just a very down to earth person. She gave me a lot of insight into Vince's affection for buses and mass transit. Carol and I shared many stories about transit and Chicago. I really enjoyed our conversations about Vince and buses! Such a nice lady and I hope she makes the trip to Chicago so we can possibly all get together with Vince's friends and share some bus stories. R.I.P. Vince! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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