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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, April 2 — Brother Leo M. Srubas, a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen for nearly 65 years, passed away on March 26, 2021, after a two and a half year battle with kidney disease. He was 91 years old.

Brother Srubas was a member of BLET Division 81 in Kansas City, Kansas. He joined our Brotherhood on August 13, 1956, and held continuous membership for more than six decades. He served the Brotherhood in numerous elected offices over the years, including Secretary-Treasurer of the Kansas State Legislative Board. Brother Srubas may best be remembered for his role as Secretary-Treasurer of the BLET’s former Southwestern Convention Meeting (SWCM), where he and his wife Frances were a fixture for many decades. Brother Srubas served as a member of the SWCM scholarship committee, helping to award financial aid to hundreds of BLET families throughout the years.

Brother Srubas began his railroad career in 1950 as a laborer for Union Pacific Railroad in his home town of Kansas City, Kansas. He went firing on July 12, 1951, and earned his promotion to locomotive engineer on May 15, 1959. From 1951 to 1953, he served the U.S. army in the railroad battalion in Ft. Eustis, Va., and served in the Korean War, working on military railroads to transport troops and supplies in Korea.

Brother Srubas went on his Last Run for the Union Pacific on January 14, 1996, working as a locomotive engineer between Kansas City and Marysville, Kan.

Brother Srubas was preceded in death by his wife Frances, who passed away in 2012. The couple married on June 1, 1957, and they had one son, Larry. Brother Srubas was a member of the Knights of Lithuania, where he served as treasurer, and also the Lithuanians of America, where he served as president, vice president, and treasurer. He belonged to the Knights of Columbus Marian Council 3768, and was a member of the Christ the King Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, beginning in 1960.

Brother Srubas was buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas, on March 31, 2021. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in memory of Leo Srubas be made to the Christ the King School: https://www.ctkclassical.org/donate.html .

“Brother Leo Srubas will be sorely missed by all who knew him,” BLET National President Dennis R. Pierce said. “He helped many BLET members over the years through his dedication as an elected union officer, and their families also benefitted from his generosity and hard work on the Southwestern Convention Meeting scholarship committee. On behalf of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, I extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Leo Srubas.”